#at least samoa joe is doing well

[selamat-linting]

everytime i watch clips of cm punk's time in aew its always fun, the first few minutes i'd be like "this is good. too bad punk couldn't be here to give a proper sendoff. he should have been more chill i guess. hm wonder what all the other guys are doing" and then The Death Spiral of Remembrance Begins.

[midwestmade29]

Cuffed 😏

This was a spicy request that I just couldn't turn down 😁 I hope I did it justice and turned it into something you will enjoy! This one is for you @madhatterbri 🖤

Disclaimers: Oral sex, unprotected sex, restrained with handcuffs, cursing, mention of injury. Read at your own discretion 🙃

Word count: 1.5k

Divider by: Me 🙂

GIF is not mine

Side note: Yes, I know about the reports on Hangman's ankle. I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone in regards to it, but I'm aware that my story may or may not follow what's going on in the "real world." We just out here having fun 🤷🏻‍♀️🙂

You try something new to help distract your cowboy from his thoughts…

Last night, Adam had a big 6-man tag match that was pretty eventful to say the least! Everything was going well until the end, when he rolled his ankle after Samoa Joe tried to do a muscle buster on him. While you watched the events unfold on the monitor backstage, your heart almost stopped when Adam slid out of the ring and onto the floor. He was wincing in pain and urging the cameraman not to show him in his current state.

The look on his face when he walked off limping and needing the assistance of Doc Sampson was very concerning! After being examined in medical, it was determined that he had a mid-grade ankle sprain and was sent home with specific instructions from Doc to ice it and stay off it as much as possible for a few days.

The next day you and Adam flew home, his ankle still sore and swollen. You did your best to ensure that he was following the doctor’s orders, but he was starting to get restless. You were sitting next to him on the couch catching up on the tv shows you missed while you were gone, when you noticed his mind was somewhere else. You scooted closer to him, placing your head on his shoulder.

“Just a few more minutes with the ice, and then you need to keep it elevated. Can I get you anything?”

Adam only sighed and shook his head “no,” prompting you to get to the bottom of his somber mood.

“What’s wrong, baby? What’s on your mind?” “I’m just frustrated. This injury couldn’t have happened at a worse time, you know? The PPV isn’t that far away, and I can’t miss it,” he explained while running his fingers through his hair. “I just hope I’m good to go by then,”

You were going to offer some words of comfort, but Adam stood up and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” your voice was laced with concern.

“I know I’m supposed to sit, but I just can’t. I’m going to take a shower.”

You had high hopes that the hot water would offer Adam some relief from his thoughts, but when you walked into the bedroom you were sadly mistaken. He was leaning up against the headboard with his towel still wrapped around his waist, mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

“Hey, feel any better?” you whispered in his direction.

Adam tossed his phone onto the bed and sighed.

“Not really. I wish there was a way I could shut my brain off,”

You were walking towards him, lost in your own thoughts about how you could cheer your cowboy up when something silver and shiny caught your eye on the dresser. A mischievous smile crept across your face as you picked up 2 metal objects and tossed them on the bed in Adam’s direction.

“What’s this?” he asked while reaching towards the objects. “Handcuffs? What are these even from?” Instead of taking a seat next to him on the bed, you straddled his lap, causing his towel to shift underneath you. You leaned forward and wrapped your arms around his neck and spoke softly.

“Well, they were a gift for a bachelorette party I went to last week, but I forgot to put them in the gift bag. I was going to return them, but now I have a better idea,”

Your words made Adam’s eyebrows raise in surprise and his lips to part in curiosity.

“I see. So, what’s your idea then?”

You brought your lips next to his ear and spoke low and slow, “Let me handcuff you. I’ll take care of you and help you relax. No touching, no thinking. Only feeling,”

A quick conversation and some ground rules later, Adam surprised you when he agreed to let you handcuff him! He needed the distraction from his injury, and you wanted to provide exactly that for him.

“Get comfy and raise your arms,” you instructed.

With 2 clicks, Adam’s hands and wrists were securely bound to the bedframe. You couldn’t help but chuckle when he tugged on the handcuffs and they rattled against the metal frame.

“Are you ready, baby? Just sit back and let me give you a show,"

With a peck on his lips, you backed up from him and he watched your every move. You pulled your shirt up your torso and over your head before tossing it on the floor, placing your hands under the waistband of your pants and sliding them down your legs. When your breasts sprung free from your bra, you could’ve sworn you heard Adam curse under his breath!

Once your panties joined the rest of your clothes on the floor, you stood at the end of the bed causing Adam to forget momentarily that he was restrained until the clank and clang reminded him.

“Be good for me and I’ll let you go. If not, I guess you won’t be laying a finger on me tonight...”

You positioned yourself in between Adam’s thighs, undoing the twist he had on his towel that was keeping it securely in place. His hard length was set free when you pulled the towel away, both of you were more than ready for you to dive in. He sucked in a sharp breath when your lips made contact with his tip, planting kisses all around it.

You drug your tongue up the vein, making Adam squirm and strain against the handcuffs. You took every inch of him inside your mouth and began working your magic. His pants and soft moans filled the bedroom, encouraging you to continue exactly what you were doing!

“Fuck, Y/N! That pretty little mouth of yours, taking me so well! If you don’t stop, I’m going to cum down your throat!” You had no intention to stop or slow your pace, even when Adam warned you one last time. His body shuddered against you when he came, the handcuffs forcefully clashing against the headboard. He was a panting mess as he tried to catch his breath, making you smile as you wiped the corners of your mouth!

“Are you going to release me?” Adam asked breathlessly.

You maneuvered your way up the bed and straddled the cowboy once again, biting and kissing his neck while murmuring against it.

“Release you? I don’t think so! At least, not right now baby. I’m not done having my way with you just yet,”

It didn’t take long for Adam to harden under you while you kissed him and spoke filth into his ears. You positioned your entrance on top of his length and began lowering yourself down on him. You groaned into the air with every inch you took inside of you. His cock stretched you in the best way, filling you completely when you rocked yourself against it.

“Shit! You feel s-s-so good, Y/N! Yes, just like that baby,” Adam encouraged.

Between the sound of your bodies connecting, the cursing and moans, and the sound of metal scraping against metal, there was no denying that the two of you were enjoying yourselves! The pressure deep inside you continued to build, just begging to be released with each rock of your hips.

“I’m so close Adam! So, fucking close!” you cried out.

He began thrusting himself inside of you, hitting new spots that drove you wild! You could tell that he was losing himself in pure ecstasy too when he begged you to set his hands free.

“Undo the handcuffs, Y/N! Please, I…fuck! I need to touch you!” There wasn’t a lot of time to spare as you felt your orgasm getting closer and closer, so you gave the handcuffs your best try when you attempted to undo them! Unfortunately, the “easy release lever” wasn’t so easy to use after all!

“Adam, I-I can’t get it! I can’t undo them!” you said in a pleasure filled panic.

Your cowboy wasn’t about to let anything hold him back from touching you, so he pulled and tugged the handcuffs with incredible force, causing the little chain links to bend and break!

“Oh my God!” you gasped when you saw one broken handcuff on each of his wrists.

His hands were now gripping your hips tightly and the dangling metal lightly scraped against you as your orgasms ripped through each of you! You collapsed onto his chest from the intensity of it, and he wrapped his arms around you. You moaned and hummed against his bare chest as you welcomed each wave of pleasure that continued to crash over you.

Once you were steady, you removed yourself from him and rolled over onto your side of the bed and began to giggle at the mess you had made of Adam.

“I cannot believe you broke the handcuffs!” you playfully scolded. “How are your wrists? Are they okay?”

It took a few seconds for him to respond since he was still coming down from his high, but what he said only caused you to laugh more.

“My wrists are fine, baby. Obviously, the handcuffs are not, and I can’t guarantee the headboard is either. But what I can guarantee is we will be purchasing new ones so I can use them on you next…”

[maxwelljacobfriedman]

i'm rewatching the worlds end mjf and samoa joe match and it's very interesting to me how much max's face turn plays into the loss - at least as much as adam stalling looking for the ring, imo. the fact that he now wants the validation and love from the crowd makes him make stupid mistakes, like the kangaroo kick (it's so over! he knows the crowd will pop!), and trying to skin the cat when he could've just dropped the floor and gotten back in the ring, and might have avoided the kick to the head. i feel like it's all part of the larger - max doesn't know how to be a face, really, so he's just doing what he thinks a face does/what the crowd cheers for the most. he doesn't have a middle ground. he either wants to make them hate him so he doesn't have to worry about whether they like him, or he needs them to LOVE him, even at the cost of his physical well-being. i mean, heel max would not have wrestled injured. heel max said over and over, wrestle smarter not harder. heel max doesn't take stupid risks. heel max doesn't wrestle every week. heel max took time off for a hangnail. literally everything heel max would have warned face max about came true: trusting someone just ends in heartbreak, performing for the audience gets you injured.

[are-we-really-doing-this]

In general, I think, wrestling is good to rare pairs. Usually the two people with chemistry and a history have at LEAST had a match together. That's what's great about wrestling, the world is all very incestuous so to speak, it's about who you know and who you can find a way to get booked with, runs gotta line up, scheduling and injury you gotta dance around but if your pair is in the business for long enough you can get lucky. It happens. Bookers can be real quick to jump at opportunities and there is a good chance you will EVENTUALLY get a match. Quality and length is up in the air. This is not always the case, of course. Samoa Joe and John Cena, for instance. The thing about JoeCena that burns my ass the most is that they have been snuffed, by my count, at least 3 separate times.

At one point in 2001, Joe was the UPW champ and good ol Prototype was the number one contender. It didn't get booked because contracts were buhhhhh and Rick Bassman was euhhhhh and John might've been bodybuilding or some shit. Whatever. Whatever. Pft.

2001-2003. Joe periodically fucks off to be a gaijin in Zero-1 and get shitfaced on someone else's dime leaving destroyed hotel rooms in his wake, wooooo les fucking go. Or maybe not. Everything was lined up for John to join them but contracts were once again buhhhhhhh and OVW was like euhhhhhh. Whatever. I literally don't care (I do).

WWE. Joe wrestled his ass off when he got that contract (I count 81 matches in 2015 alone and bitches wanna wonder why he took a break for his health) but couldn't get a good push that third or fourth time around to save his life for various medical and bureaucratic reasons and I also suspect you know who. They had two singles matches on back to back house shows and a couple uninspired tag matches with minimal contact. John Cena was at that point John Cena so you know. Whatever. I'm cool guys, I'm cool.

What the hell am I saying. Well. They got started at the same wrestling school, they've sparred and run drills together, they've rolled around in the ring, they've shared many opponents and out of ring moments, Joe has invited John to the family cookouts, he has even witnessed some of the first thuganomics freestyles during road trips (and very likely video taped at least one but that WMA link is dead in a fucking ditch), John even bought one of Joe's t shirts. "The champ is here", they share that, the shaka sign, they share that, the funky little dance before an elbow drop, they share that, the legendary feuds with Punk, they share that. I need them to FUCK, and I cannot DO that without looking like a maniac unless they have a fucking feud. Every, single, time I watch the Howard Stern clip and hear "280, nice smile" and Cena won't shut up about how he's an ass man the crackhead that lives in my brain runs around screaming "JOE JOE JOE" and my ears ring and my vision goes white like a flashbang went off four inches up my nose. It's fucked.

[romiswired]

CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE SummerSlam Cleveland 2024)

This is rough.

When CM Punk came back to the WWE there were many questions about his condition as an active wrestler, many were thanks to his last months in AEW where, outside of controversies he was not in the best shape possible. Nonetheless, CM Punk's swan song in AEW found him in one of his best matches in his career renaissance against Samoa Joe, who you could argue is Punk's biggest and most important rival. These doubts fans had were thanks to Punk's age and how weird it felt to see him back in the company that represents many of the things Punk *does not* like in wrestling, one of these things being exaggerated melodramatic matches that fail to accomplish their goals.

When Punk started his rivalry with Drew McIntyre, those doubts started to fade away, because we were seeing one of the best of all time doing what he knows best: Sell you a match. The rivalry was all over the place, and it seemed like both men had all to cover, even past drama that Punk had or, well, a bracelet. The thing is that thanks to Punk's injury we were not seeing matches, therefore, there was a lot of hype behind it. Punk was just a piece of shit. He used every bit of his energy to crash and destroy Drew's hopes in many scenarios that would get somebody killed if they happened in real life. After he was medically cleared to compete, we finally found a stage where they would have their match: SummerSlam in Cleveland.

Although, not as we imagined it. The match was billed as a normal match, with the exception that a guest referee was involved: Seth Rollins, who has a history with both men and doesn't even care about their wellbeing that much. Rollins didn't have any side, so its inclusion in the match didn't feel forced or less organic, in fact, I liked that because it opened the window for more violence. After all, if you build a rivalry around pure hatred for the other individual, YOU HAVE to live up to it, because you practically thought about it like that. The one thing wrestling always gets to accomplish is selling you matches with premises that sometimes do not get followed, and WWE is the master in making great storylines with god-awful matches that fail to compile every emotion found in those segments that always get viral.

I always thought of these rivalries as the most important example of how wrestling is not just in-ring or storytelling, but a mix of both that is starting to disappear because people have been trained and domesticated to think about wrestling in an "us vs. them" mentality rather than ask for any wrestling company to comprehend the basics. That way we have WWE advocating for "long-term storytelling" and AEW advocating for "in-ring quality", when both companies fail miserably in focalizing those aspects in their presentation: and you have to blame both Triple H and Tony Khan for it, because while one has the necessity to turn up the melodrama and become a parody of itself, the other has a weird and mistaken conception of what "in-ring" truly means.

The result of this separation is whatever happened in this match.

If I had to encapsulate every feeling that this match left in me in a word, it would be "disappointment". I don't know, but I was really hyped about this one, and I wanted to watch SummerSlam only because of this. And to be honest, I don't watch WWE that much to offer a perspective of SummerSlam as a whole, but the things that I wanted to see were the ones that made me mad the most. This match is one of them. I didn't enter this match thinking it would be a bloody brawl, because I knew that I was watching, but at least I wanted it to be more gruesome and visceral.

If the storyline was bad, this match would be great, but the issue lies in what was sold to us as a rivalry built on hatred: because you can't fake HATE. You can't fake violence, because both of those things remain the most honest tools wrestling has at its disposal to make you believe in something. If a match that was billed as "violence as you've never seen before" turns out to be a normal match you will feel insulted, and while this is the rule when talking about this kind of match in WWE, you still want to give them the benefit of the doubt when a match has potential.

The worst thing about this match is not the melodramatic elements, which while unnecessary tend to be interesting, but the importance they have in a feud built around "bad blood" between two guys. Rollins' role in this match is not bad, but poorly, poorly booked because he shall never be the focus of the match neither care about what's about to happen to Punk or Drew. He shouldn't present any kind of morality, because what he should be doing is turning his back and allowing these guys to kill each other, because that's what matters the most in this story.

I'm not even mad about the bracelet. I'm mad about this match being watered down in favor of a wicked conception of "long-term storytelling" where everything needs to be slow and boring. I want to see these guys kill each other because that's what I came here for. I don't care about Rollins or the issues Punk has with him when the one who beat him to a bloody pulp is the guy who is standing on the other side of the ring. If this was any other pairing, the match would be good and even great, but this kind of "NXT 2021" booking shall not be accepted in this one.

Wrestling needs to feel more violent and less deep for the sake of it, more so if you don't know what the hell you're trying to do in contrast to what you're selling. And maybe you're going to say that this match is bad or less violent because it is the first time they wrestle, but it should be violent because of it. If the first match leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, what shall you expect for the second, and will it be hype or demand?

This match is a lesson to all wrestling fans that storytelling shall never be separated from in-ring again, because it can kill a match.

[cowboymenace]

MJF's year as Champion

MJF has been champion for one year after beating an extremely protected Jon Moxley. He spent the first half being a heel, avoiding conflict and manipulating opponents. Some has been good if not great, his feud with Danielson is one of the best and his match with Ricky Starks is an underrated gem that I don't see many talk about mostly because of both men's trajectory. There has been some bad, the four pillars feud exposed 1/2 of the men as not ready for the main event spot, I won't say who but if you go back to watch the promo battles you can see who I mean.

Enter Adam Cole. Cole was out for an extended period of time and whenever talent is out for that amount they typically return as a face, especially if they're entertaining. After doing his time in the Jericho Pit, he would go after the World Title. MJF and Him would have a match where it came to a draw, and MJF would deny overtime to decide a winner. However, a randomized tag team tournament forced them to work together. This is typically something the WWE would do, a scenario where two guys feuding must work together "CAN THEY GET ALONG" where they do gel but end up turning on each other. Cole and MJF would become friends, with constant teasing that they one would double cross the other. The twist: neither man has.

This would create the biggest buzz in the company. MJF would be seen as one of those guys who would never turn face, but he proved us wrong. It felt like a challenge for Max, trying to prove that he can be as compelling and fun as a face as he was a heel. In the world of wrestling, heels seem to have more creativity, and it may seem hard, but I'd argue it's easier to get people to dislike you. It's hard to get people to like you. MJF achieved that and made moves like a double clothesline and a front drop kick more over than any other move in the company.

Both men would open and close AEW's and modern wrestling's Biggest Event Ever. So how do you follow that? Well by erroneously making MJF the center of the universe, and unfortunately over stuffing the title picture. MJF and Cole won the ROH Tag Belts, which have been turned into trinkets something they'd hang on their Christmas tree. Neither man have worked an ROH Honorclub episode, Cole has the excuse of being super injured at least. You'd think that this would be a good time for a heel team to beat an handicapped team for some quick heat right? Wrong, there's been two instances where MJF has fended off heel teams, once by himself. Alone, MJF began to feud with the hottest heel stable in the company Bullet Club Gold. Jay White would challenge and taunt MJF for months, however he wouldn't get the champ's sole attention. Wardlow would return much to my chagrin to do sloppy powerbombs (the man is a walking tabula rasa) and challenge MJF. Samoa Joe wants a rematch since MJF and Cole heroically cheated to beat him. Also there's a masked man in MJF's devil costume beating up people who are near MJF either as friend and foe.

Oh yes one more thing, MJF has to deal with Roderick Strong and the kingdom. Seems like there's a lot on his plate, seems like he would be distracted and therefore would be more likely to lose? Nope. MJF got """hurt""" during his tag match against the Gunns to build tension for the main event title match but won anyways. He would sell his leg as hurt but then do moves that would worsen his condition because there was a Seth Rollins particles leak in his locker room I guess.

Jay White is a former two time IWGP World Champion. He's beaten every top guy in New Japan. In his first year there he proved himself as a top gaijin heel. Plebians who have no tastes would say he was boring, his matches too long, and he needed interference to win. They're wrong and their money stacks shorter than mini me. Jay White would prove the haters wrong by making a seamless transition into a western heel and as I said before became a part of the hottest heel act. He then went on to lose to a hurt, distracted MJF.

A man of that caliber was just a stepping stone for a rematch against another high caliber talent but I fear that match may be another stepping stone because there's a Wardlow waiting in the wings and a devil to be unmasked. MJF's story feels unfocused and frustrating. I know he's the most over guy in the company, but he's held the belt for well over a year and just doesn't seem to lose even when it wouldn't hurt him to. I imagine Cole destroying his foot and ankle threw a wrench into the plan, but the response to that should not be to sacrifice high quality talent to the wrestling gods to keep things afloat.

I have enjoyed MJF's run with the belt and am pleased he resigned. However don't turn him into an untouchable champion, the fun should be the possibility of him losing. If he wins too much then there's less and less stakes.

[openedskull]

who is your least favourite wrestler, but what could they do to improve your opinion of them?

i'm going to kill chris jericho in minecraft (real answer below)

serious answer though: i'm not sure what would improve my opinion, practically speaking. unfortunately his readiness to take the things that people hate about him - the jericho vortex - and make it into a deliberate bit circles around far enough to be briefly funny... but then it drags on for too long. "hi guys!!!! i am the learning tree!!!!" was funny for a week or so. the hard and sudden pivot to being malicious and unhinged (cf samoa joe forklift incident) had the same tone as a horror movie villain reveal and it genuinely startled me, credit where it's due - but now it's not going anywhere again, and it's stifling the careers and growth of the wrestlers that are being booked to work with him. it reminds me in a weird way of *younger* and less experienced wrestlers having clumsy promos or not knowing when to move on from a bit that isn't working or taking too long to set up a move - and jericho is too seasoned a wrestler to get away with it imo.

(frankly, i also feel really gross about bryan keith's career being somewhat stalled by association with someone who has jericho's politics.)

it doesn't help that jericho is visibly slowing down, but insisting on having matches like nothing has changed. i think about sting - granted sting is ten years jericho's senior but he was very honest with himself about his limitations, was able to put on really great cinematic matches or work closely with a younger wrestler who both needed putting over and could take most of the bumps. i think jericho needs to take his ego out of the picture and give some real thought to how much he can not just practically, physically do - but how much he's able to *sell.* i'm not *convinced* by him, and it's undercutting the reputation he has as a big deal or a major contributor to the establishment of aew. it doesn't make him or the promotion look good, and he's not succeeding very well at putting the younger wrestlers around him over, imo.

complaining aside - i think he would probably benefit from going back to basics. change up whatever he's doing in terms of working out and training... be more honest with himself about what he can feasibly and convincingly do. i don't think it would make me LIKE him, because i do just find him very grating and i find his politics deeply alienating - but he's here and there are people in aew who respect and value him whether i like him or not, and i think if he approached wrestling with more humble and realistic expectations he might get on my nerves less.

[grizzledyoungimpact]

The Devil's In The Details

Whumpuary 2024 January 1-2, 2024 Captivity/Snow/Secret Revealed MJF/Adam Cole

The worst thing that should have happened that night was he couldn't get his arm up in time. After the months of torture at the hands of the Devil and his Demons, Maxwell had not really been surprised when it turned out Samoa Joe was in league with those men. Were they all men? Sometimes it was hard to keep track when there were so many of them. It didn't matter though. Hell, Joe taking his title didn't really matter.

Not when he had Adam by his side.

In the beginning, Adam had been nothing but an annoyance that wanted his title. Max had no intentions on getting involved with the other man. Had it not been for the surprise of being thrown together in a tag team, Max would have kept on being alone. From hot wing dinners to video game sprees to even winning the Ring of Honor tag team championships, Max had found that being alone wasn't what he wanted at all. Having a friend was what Maxwell wanted.

Adam Cole was what Maxwell wanted.

The injury to Adam's ankle had thrown a wrench in everything. Adam wouldn't be there by his side, wouldn't be able to defend their tag team championships. Adam had wanted to relinquish them, but no. No. Max wasn't able to let his friend down like that. Max wasn't able to let Adam go. For the first time in his life, he felt loved. Maxwell felt needed. Giving up the titles meant giving up on Adam and Max refused to give up Adam.

It was why losing those Ring of Honor tag team championships had hurt so badly. Of all things that The Devil had caused to happen, the loss of such a special memory was what hurt so badly. Joe would pay for the double cross. Joe was going to lose the one thing that he loved so much, the chance to ever become a champion. Joe had to lose to make up for taking Adam and Max swore to have that retaliation.

Or, at least, he wanted to be that retaliation.

Joe's Coquina Clutch had taken away the chance Max had to make him suffer. Joe walking away with the Big Burberry Belt in his hometown was more painful than he could ever begin to fathom. Adam cradling him, talking him through his pain was helping. The touch of Adam's hand was helping.

The arrival of the Devil's Demons wasn't even enough to take the feeling of Adam's praise away.

Max did his best to fight for his friend, but it wasn't long before both he and Adam were on their knees in the center of the ring. It took two men and the previous match to stop Maxwell from getting to his friend. The man between them held a chair and all Max could think to do was beg.

"Adam, no! Adam no!" Max screamed as the largest of the masked men raised the chair above his head with intent to hit his best friend, "You hit me. Hit me. Do not hit him! Don't you fucking hit him! Hit me! HIT ME!"

The lights cut out and Max knew this was it. The man beneath the devil mask was on his way. Max assumed it was someone like Swerve Strickland or Hangman Adam Page. At this point, maybe even Jack Petty. Max was prepared to fight. Max was prepared for any one of those men to try and take everything from him.

Max had been ready for everyone but the harsh reality that he faced once the lights came up.

Sitting in the same chair Max was certain was about to hit either him or Adam in the head, was Adam. The masked men stood behind him, as if awaiting the word to attack. Max knelt in shock, tears welling up in his eyes. Of all the possibilities in the world, Max had never thought it could be the man he considered his best friend. Max had never wanted it to be his friend. Adam pushed his long hair out of his face, looking up to stare Max in his eyes.

"Not you man..."

The Devil's Demons were evident before they ever unmasked. Roderick Strong made sense. He was Adam's supposed best friend, maybe even real best friend now? The men who had taken his beloved Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships were The Kingdom, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett which, again, made sense. There was a little confusion upon seeing Wardlow, but even then, Max understood that it made sense.

Max felt his throat run dry, "Not you, man. Not you. Anybody but you! I lo-"

Before he could confess, the Devil's Demons rushed him to attack. Adam's men rushed him to attack.

He had known better in his heart than to believe anyone could ever love a scumbag.

[blowflyfag]

*random* just occured to me you have fag in your username, thats cool bro- which wrestler has the best fits in your opinion

Ooooooh best wrestler with the best fits? You opened a can of worms my dear bro. Longer post so read under cut :] thanks for letting me ramble. Pictures included. im probably not gonna be able to pick a best i've never been good at it sooooo!!! heres my tops :]

Shawn Michaels throughout his career has some of my favorite wrestling gear ever, even his early work with the rockers.

Chyna also, has many stylish outfits in and out of the ring. She’s sooooo. :]

Naomi. I feel like if you just look her up that’s all I have to say but Naomi comes week after week with fun fucking wrestling gear AND THEN GOES AND DOES A MAGAZINE SHOOT WHWRE SHE looks SO GORGEOUS! AH. also how she does her hair too is sooooos sososos fun

Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair as of late with their matching gear as well has been incredible. I do watch wrestling extremely Inebriated but usually when those two come on I’m sitting upright and screaming about how good they look and how they’re outfits compliment each other

This is like….. ok. I like Samoa Joe’s colorbloxing a lot AND HIS LONG PANTS ARE SUOER STYLISH. Samoa Joe hottest man ever and super stylish.the brown is my personal fav

Maxxine Dupri... you all know how i feel about her :]

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven :] i love oppisite aesthetics coming together i love them soossosososo much

John Morrison aestheic in 09 as this like. psychedelic rocker is sooooo good. raaah john morrison is so cool. its mostly the big jacket tho probably

uhhhhh i think this is it though. at least the ones who come to my head. thanks for letting me ramble :]

[droptoeholdyourhorses]

Thankfully I got to Wembley and back without running into any issues with the trains. Even just getting on at the station, I saw four other people wearing wrestling shirts and that number gradually increased the closer it got to London. The whole day had a similar atmosphere to when I attended WrestleMania 31. Wrestling. Fans. Everywhere.

I was up in the nosebleeds so not the best of views, having to rely on the screen above the ring for most of the night. The atmosphere more than made up for it. Although I am jealous of my work mate who also attended, had floor seats, and can be seen multiple times in the crowd throughout the show.

Ticketmaster told me the doors opened at 3:30, that Zero Hour would start at 5, and the main show would start at 6. Thank goodness I was in my seat by 4:15 because otherwise I would have missed Powerhouse Hobbs and Miro who were in the ring at 4:30. Imagine still being in line at the merch stand instead. Side note - I thought WWE replica titles were pricey going for £300 to £450. AEW replicas start at £650 and go up to £850.

From where I was sat, I had no clue it was Anthony Ogogo with Paul Wight and Grado. Genuinely thought it was Wardlow at first. Mercedes got a good reaction the first time she was shown but got a better pop the second time once more fans had filled in and the main show was underway.

I saw Aussie Open compete at NJPW Royal Quest in August 2019 and I didn't think much of them at the time. Fair play to the lads, they've had a hell of a few years since. Would have hoped for them to hold onto the ROH tag titles for longer. Don't think they'll be complaining about opening All In against the hottest act in the company though.

Not much reaction to this match in my section, although people were glad to see HOOK get the win. Jack Perry doing Rolling Thunder on top of the limo was also impressive. I do wonder how a casual fan checking out the show would react to Perry's comment about the limo having real glass.

"Well, duh, what else would it be?"

Every time I have seen Samoa Joe live, he's gotten a positive reaction whether playing face or heel. CM Punk was met with a mixed response, although I couldn't see anyone that didn't sing along with Cult of Personality. I understand the logic of "I'm gonna take your Real World Championship simply so you can't have it." I don't understand the logic of AEW promoting matches for a fake title. Will Thunder Rosa declare herself the Real Women's Champion when she returns? If this does end up being Punk's swansong, there are worse ways to go. From an on-screen perspective at least.

Omega, Ibushi, and Page losing was not popular with the live crowd, getting some "bull plop" chants. I wasn't that fussed personally, think it makes sense for Takeshita to keep building momentum ahead of the singles with Kenny. The six-man tag was fine for what it was but I wouldn't say there was anything particularly memorable here either.

Ahead of their usual Superkick Party theme, the Young Bucks had a short "Another One Bites The Dust" parody "A Superkick Knocks You Out". It wouldn't be the last time an act on the show would shoehorn in a Queen song. Both teams put on a solid match as you'd expected, definitely picking up the pace as it went on. Surprised that FTR retained given Cash's recent issues. Wembley was most respectful of the manner, singing "Wheeler's Got a Gun" to the tune of "Give It Up".

I like Eddie Kingston. I like Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends. I like the Blackpool Combat Club. It's a shame I was limited as to how much I got to see of them. And that's not because of the cheap seats. Stadium Stampede was always going to be a hard watch live with ten different guys in four or five different places at once. It felt like Eddie was gone for most of the match. Penta's transformation from El Zero Miedo to Oscuro did not come across well live either. Was mostly met by confusion and laughter. Massive reactions for Orange and of course SUE! Great to see Cassidy, Trent and Chuck get the win on such a big stage.

Remember the band Queen? Saraya sure does. Remember Queen Elizabeth II? Toni Storm sure does. Remember great women's wrestling? Tony Khan might be forgetting it. This match suffered from its placement on the card and there wasn't much crowd noise for it, at least where I was sat. Toni Storm accidentally decking Saraya's mum drew an "ooooooo" and Saraya got a good pop for the win.

I've now seen Sting wrestle for four different promotions - WWA, TNA, WWE, and AEW. It's amazing that he's still going at 64 and having such a great run to boot. Massive reaction for his old WCW theme Seek and Destroy too.

I saw a Casket match between Mr. Anderson and Bully Ray at a TNA show in 2014. Except they had a cheap wooden casket that looked like it would fall apart any second. I think the four guys in this would have preferred it, given how often each did a spot directly onto the coffin itself. Everyone delivered in this one.

Before making his proper entrance, Chris Jericho decided to mimic Freddie Mercury. Can't think why. Judas is a catchy song and having 80,000+ singing it all at once was immense. I know people wanted to see Will Ospreay against someone else, such as a third match with Kenny Omega, but I was hyped for this one. Always been a Jericho fan, one of the first wrestlers I remember seeing when I started watching in 2001. Ospreay is tremendous and I had only seen him live in a throwaway tag match previously. These two knocked it out of the park and this was probably my match of the night.

As soon as I got to Wembley Stadium and found my spot in the massive queue, there were already people singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands". There were tributes to Bray Wyatt throughout the night and it reached its most poignant during House of Black's entrance.

Quite a contrast then when The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn won, leading to the World's Largest Scissoring.

Oh boy, this was a divisive one live. Some people around me loved it and were thrilled that friendship won out the night, some people thought the match had too much comedy and needed one guy betraying the other. One guy in my section would not stop shouting for Adam Cole to take his shirt off and take it seriously. I liked it for the most part. Wasn't a fan of the false double pin, even with the immediate restart. Glad that Better Than You Bay Bay is still going. Hope All Out doesn't undo it immediately.

Overall, I had a great time at All In and very much hope I can go again in 2024. Would have liked to attend with someone rather than be on my own, but did get to meet up with my work mate for a burger after the show. I also got to see Cash Wheeler, Sonjay Dutt, Wheeler Yuta and SUE! in passing too. Fun times all round... was absolutely exhausted after. Luckily, there's no more London shows this year...

At least, I'm not currently planning to go to Royal Quest III anyhow.

[wrestlingisfake]

Worlds End preview

MJF vs. Samoa Joe - Friedman is making his 11th defense of the AEW men's world championship. He already defended the title against Joe on September 20, but he needed a timely distraction by Adam Cole to do it. Adam got hurt doing that, so Max can't rely on that trick this time. During Cole's absence, MJF has been struggling to keep up with all the guys gunning for him, so Joe offered to provide assistance in exchange for this title match. MJF finally took him up on that offer on November 18, so now it's time to pay up.

For the past three months MJF's storylines have been in the shadow of The Devil, a mysterious masked figure that stole Max's devil mask and seems to want to ruin Friedman's life. For a while it looked like Joe and MJF had a common interest in thwarting The Devil and his goons, since Joe wanted the champ to be safe and sound leading up to this match. But then on December 27, Joe and The Devil revealed it was all a set-up--Joe let two of The Devil's goons beat Max for the ROH tag title, then he personally laid out the world champ with a chair.

MJF is hurting. Not just because Joe betrayed and attacked him, and not just because he couldn't keep his promise to Adam Cole about keeping the tag belts. He's said that he's working through a legit torn labrum in his left shoulder. He clearly fucked up his right hip when he did an elbow drop from the top rope to the floor in his last world title defense. On Thursday The Players' Tribune ran a long column by Max, where he acknowledged that he's banged up and probably shouldn't be doing this match. Everything about the column reads like he wants to get some stuff of his chest because he knows he's about to go away for a while. Of course, if anybody would know how to give that impression as a red herring, to build suspense for a wrestling storyline, it's MJF.

I don't expect to learn anything significant about The Devil on this show. But that's fine with me, because I've been hankering to see this match since before The Devil even showed up. For me the point is to see the people's scumbag square off with a powerhouse he can't outwit. Max has been an underdog in most of his big title bouts, but this time he's really behind the 8-ball, and I want to see how he faces that.

When these two first worked together in September, I never expected Joe to win the title. But since the first match, AEW has only pushed Joe harder, and built him up even bigger as an unstoppable final boss. He could play that role in the midcard, and he did for over a year as ROH television champ. But once he vacated that title, I became certain they don't want him to lose again anytime soon. My gut says this is the end of Max's title reign. He could certainly surprise me and retain, but I sure don't know how.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley - This is the final match of the Continental Classic tournament. By design, this match will decide the first AEW continental champion, but two other titles are at stake as well, since Eddie added his ROH men's world title and the STRONG men's title to the pot. So whoever wins will get three belts forming "the modern American triple crown."

Moxley won the Gold League with a 5-1 record, including a three-way semifinal against Swerve Strickland and Jay White. Kingston lost his first two Blue League matches, but since then he's been on a four-match winning streak. The last time these two faced off one-on-one was 2020, when Moxley beat Eddie in two world title bouts. Kingston has to be considered the underdog, but that's how he likes it.

Ever since Eddie put the ROH and STRONG belts on the line in this tournament, I've expected him to at least get to the final, and probably to win the whole thing. If you were just going to make up a new belt and put it on Moxley, there'd be no reason to bring the other two into this. So my gut says the plan is to build up Eddie as some kind of traveling champion who brings his triple crown to other promotions. But we won't really know what the continental title is for until after this match, I suppose.

Christian Cage vs. Adam Copeland - Cage's AEW TNT title is on the line. This is a rematch from December 6, where Cage beat Copeland to retain the belt, but he needed interference from Shayna Wayne to do it. This time Copeland wants no excuses, so the stipulation is that the match can't end by disqualification. Whoever ends up with the title after this will likely defend it against the winner of tonight's battle royale, at some point.

Cage's whole patriarch gimmick has really gotten over. I never expected him to retain against Darby Allin in October, or to win the first match against Copeland. But at this point, I think the fandom is more invested in loathing Christian than they are in seeing Copeland jump over from WWE. The money isn't in giving Copeland a belt, it's in seeing what new low Christian will stoop to in order to maintain his power base. I actually think it might be a good idea for Copeland to lose again, which would have been unthinkable eight weeks ago. I'm going to say this could go either way.

Toni Storm vs. Riho - Storm is defending the AEW women's world title. The whole storyline is just that Riho returned on December 6, so now she gets a title shot. To be fair, Riho later scored key wins over Ruby Soho and Saraya, but that's still a bit backwards. Riho is popular, but Toni's gimmick has momentum, so I don't see a title change happening anytime soon.

Julia Hart vs. Abadon - Hart's AEW TBS championship is up for grabs. If they win here, Abadon would be the first non-binary champion in AEW. Not much story here except that Julia did the lights-out teleport gimmick and offered the belt to Abadon, and they were like "yeah, let's do it" but more like a zombie would say it. There's clearly some intrigue between Julia and Skye Blue, but I'm not sure it'll play into this match.

This is a big one for me, because I invested early in both of these wrestlers. Abadon's gimmick is the kind of thing you used to only see men do, and I like that they have the range to be hideous and disturbing and not simply "sexy zombie." I wasn't sure Julia had the chops to fit in with the House of Black, but she's risen to the challenge and made people take her seriously as more than just "cute kid." They've both come so far in the past couple of years, and it's just rewarding to see them both on this big stage.

I will just bet that all the wrestlers have a good time. But realistically Julia should win, and it's a step forward for Abadon to even be in a PPV title bout.

Ricky Starks & Big Bill & Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara & Sting & Darby Allin - This was originally Starks and Bill defending the AEW tag title against Jericho and Kenny Omega, but Omega was recently hospitalized with diverticulitis. Now nobody gets a title shot, I guess.

Guevara turned on Jericho back in September to join the Don Callis Family, but he suffered a concussion shortly thereafter. He finally returned on December 27 and turned against the group. Jericho made the save, mending fences with Sammy, but Bill and Starks attacked them. Then Sting and Allin showed up for some reason. So AEW announced an eight-man tag. Originally Hobbs and Kyle Fletcher were representing the Don Callis Family on the heel side, but then Fletcher was swapped out with Takeshita for some reason.

I think it's pretty clear AEW had to scramble to re-book this match after Omega was sidelined. I guess the goal is to pivot to Sting & Allin vs. Starks & Bill, because otherwise I have no idea why this needed to become an eight-man tag. Sting remains undefeated in AEW, and I don't think this is going to be his first loss.

Byran Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli & Mark Briscoe & Daniel Garcia vs. Jay White & Brody King & Rush & Jay Lethal - These are eight of the twelve men from the Continental Classic tournament. There's not much to this except that none of these guys have any storylines set up for this week, so we're just throwing them into one match. The outcome probably doesn't make much difference, although I'm thinking Danielson's team will pick up the win.

Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee - These two were a top tag team last year, but things fell apart. The split dragged out for weeks until December 21, 2022, when Strickland did a double foot stomp off the top rope onto a cinder block on Lee's chest. Then not much happened. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, Lee started bringing up the cinder block and wanted a blowoff match, but by that point I had completely forgotten what he was talking about. I mean, okay I guess. Thing is, if they'd done the match last year, Lee would be the heavy favorite, but as it stands right now I think Swerve has to win.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Miro - Miro's hot and flexible wife CJ Perry came to AEW in September looking for clients to manage, but every time someone signs up Miro beats the fuck out of them. Andrade, however, is not so easy to beat the fuck out of. CJ convinced Miro to spare Andrade during the Continental Classic tournament, but that's over now, so. I feel like Andrade should win to keep the story going. On the other hand, I'd rather just see Miro crush Andrade and get back together with CJ. So we'll have to wait and see.

HOOK vs. Wheeler Yuta - This is scheduled for the pre-show. Hook's FTW is at stake; Yuta's ROH pure title is not. It's an "FTW rules" match, which just means the match can't end by count-out or disqualification, so anything goes. I figure one way or another we're going to get a rematch for Yuta's belt under "pure rules." So Hook should probably just win.

20-man battle royale - Another pre-show match. This is evidently a standard battle royale, so it starts with all the participants in the ring, and ends when all but one has been eliminated. Eliminations occur when a participant exits the ring over the top rope to the floor. The last man left in the ring is declared the winner, and will receive a shot at the AEW TNT title at a later date. None of the participants have been announced so far.

Assuming Christian Cage retains the TNT title, I suppose the most interesting challenger to set up would be his estranged henchman Killswitch (formerly Luchasaurus), but it may be too soon for that. If Adam Copeland wins the title, you need someone who can be a credible threat to him, like maybe Wardlow or PAC. Although I guess it'd be kind of funny if Roderick Strong won and found a new Adam to yell at. I dunno, I guess I'll go with Trent Beretta to win, since he'd be decent in a losing effort to either Cage or Copeland.

[tache-noire]

Punishment

Rating: 18+ (explicit sexual content + violent content)

Ship: Samoa Joe/CM Punk

Content: Facefucking, masochism, tooth trauma

Summary: Punk isn't satisfied until he's taken everything Joe can possibly give him.

ALSO ON AO3

Joe's not surprised one bit when Punk staggers into his locker room and tosses his duffel bag on the floor, barely five minutes after the show's gone off air. But he puts on a sardonic smirk and scoffs all the same.

"Still not enough for you?"

Punk sinks gingerly to his knees in front of him. "Has it ever been?"

He paws at his dick through his shorts. His hands are still wrapped in bloody tape, orange-pink still pooled between his teeth. He lurches forward, but Joe stops him with a hand around his jaw. Huge, spanning ear-to-ear across his chin. Punk moans, half in pain when he squeezes experimentally.

"You haven't been to a medic yet," he states. He knows his rival too well.

"Just a cut lip and a cracked tooth. It can wait." Punk's tongue pokes at his cheek, feeling around the breakage.

Joe raises an eyebrow. "It's gonna hurt like hell."

"Don't tell me you don't want to hurt me," Punk sneers.

They both know each other too well.

Joe's jaw clenches. So does his hand. Punk winces. There's a heavy moment where they both glare at each other again, like time's rewound 20 minutes and they're waiting for the bell to ring again. Each waiting for the other to take the first step, forward or back. To give way. And it's Joe, because Punk's right. He wants him to hurt. He deserves it, winning by roll-up, then strolling in here because he's never fucking satisfied until he regrets showing up to the arena in the first place. Fine. Joe's good at making people regret facing him.

He keeps his grip on Punk's jaw as he stands and pulls off his trunks and shorts, one-handed. Shoves his thumb in his mouth to keep him occupied while he strokes his cock halfway hard. He could let Punk take care of it, let him lick and drool and suck to his heart's content, but the quicker he can get to fucking his face, the better. When he has to tap out from the pain, he'd like to at least be CLOSE to coming.

"Last chance to back out."

Punk doesn't even answer. As soon as Joe takes his thumb out of his mouth, he leans in and swallows his cock down to the root. A little too fast, too eager. He whimpers around it, a little warning sting shooting through his jaw. But his dick throbs in his shorts all the same and he ruts into the heel of his palm as he starts to suck him off in earnest. It's easy at first. Joe lets him take it easy. He's still kind of soft and fits comfortably in his mouth. He can pull away and lap at the head and wriggle the tip of his tongue against the slit the way that always makes him swear under his breath (and tonight is no different). He doesn't have to do the one thing that hurts the most, actually closing his lips around and sucking hard. Not yet. But twisting and tangling itself around the arousal in his gut is a second coil-- anxiety. It's going to hurt, just as soon as Joe gets tired of this foreplay and gives Punk what he came here for.

The harder and fatter Joe's cock gets in his mouth, the harder it is to avoid aggravating his tooth. Bumping into it. Pulling on the exposed nerves with the suction he can barely avoid anymore. He keeps his jaw as wide open as possible and relaxes his throat, and that's the signal for Joe to take charge.

"This was more fun when you had long hair," he chuckles, palming the back of Punk's shaved head like a basketball.

The ease with which he controls him shoots liquid fire through his veins. After 20 years he'd finally managed to get that reaction under control while facing Joe in the ring, but it's returned full-force now. He shivers, eyelids fluttering. A little bit of that anxiety is soothed. Just enough that he doesn't brace himself.

The push is easier than the pull, for once. Punk makes the mistake of relaxing, letting his lips form a seal, and that little sting becomes a shock. A violent shudder rolls down his spine, chased by a low moan. He squeezes himself through his trunks. Jaw slack, tongue out. Breathe through the nose. Nothing he hasn't done before. Focus on the rhythm of Joe fucking his face. Swallow around the tip as he hammers the back of his throat. Nothing Joe hasn't done to him before.

It's just this particular kind of pain that's new. A broken finger, a cracked rib, those are all things he's good at fighting though. The pulsing, zipping flares from his tooth are pure and visceral like nothing else. It can't be ignored. Tears flow freely down his cheeks, cutting through the gruesome mess of blood and spit that splatters fresh with every thrust. Raw nerves from top to bottom. Dragging and ripping from his jaw, rough fabric rubbing the weeping head of his dick.

Punk lets his eyes roll back and gags wetly around Joe's shaft. Usually, around this time, he'd be nestled in a nice, stupid corner of his head where he can just get off on being used. Warm and cozy. This is something else new, this unrelenting presence of mind. He's locked out mentally, and locked in physically by the wide hand gripping his skull and forcing him all the way down, squashing his nose against Joe's pelvis. He squirms on the floor.

A switch flips, all of a sudden, and panic overrides. Almost unconsciously, he grabs Joe's hips and digs his nails in. Keeping him buried deep in the back of his throat. If he pulls out again, he's going to fall apart. His throat spasming, his lungs burning, he can stand that. But he can't handle the agony in his broken tooth. It's too much. Finally, Punk can't take any more. He sobs and slaps Joe's leg, three times.

Joe pulls out of Punk's mouth quickly, like ripping off a band-aid. Making him yelp like a kicked puppy.

"You're not good enough," he growls, switching his grip to hold Punk by the throat while he jerks himself off. "You've never been strong enough to take what you ask for, and you never will be."

Punk gazes up at him, painted red from nose to chest, maybe reverent, maybe too dazed to even understand what he's saying. But his chest heaves with another sob, "P'ease," and that's close enough to a prayer.

Joe shoots across his face with a grunt, striping his forehead, his swollen, bruised cheek, his gaping, bloody mouth. He lets go of Punk's throat, and he slumps on the ground. Punk slumps on the floor while Joe comes down. He's blinking slowly like a cat, absently licking his lips clean. Still hard, tenting the front of his trunks.

Joe rolls his eyes. "Come here."

He hauls Punk's limp body up, into his lap. He's trembling, panting against his shoulder, drooling blood all over him. But as soon as Joe tugs down the front of his gear and gets a hand around his dick, he bucks into it.

"Jesus. Are you 41 or 14?"

"Be'r hobe 'm for'y one, ol' man," Punk slurs.

Joe scrapes his thumbnail across his tip in retaliation, earning him a shaky "oh, fug--" and a jerk of Punk's hips. Never enough. He always wants more. Can't even take a regular handjob, he needs the tight grip and rough calluses, the nails raking down his spine and digging into his hip to keep him perched on Joe's thigh. He needs everything to be punishing.

"Bi' me, fug, 'm a'mosh dere," he begs, and Joe obliges. The second he sinks his teeth into Punk's shoulder, the man goes rigid and he releases between their sore, sweaty bodies. Joe doesn't let go until Punk does. Not until he's limp against him again, and he has to stand up with him balanced on his hip like a baby.

He drags a folding chair out of a corner and kicks it into the shower stall. He sits Punk down, and he's already recovered enough to wrinkle his nose at him like a petulant child.

"You've lost a lot of blood and you're still half in shock from pain. I don't trust you not to slip and kill yourself, old man," Joe sneers, pulling his gear off piece by piece.

He lets the spray hit him straight in the face for a couple seconds before scooting him back. Can't be too soft on him. And his face was filthy anyway. Punk sputters and mumbles some attempt at swearing under his breath. He catches the soapy cloth Joe tosses at him, thankfully able to wash himself at least. He's extremely ginger with his face, wincing every time he has to scrub at his swollen cheek. Joe snorts.

"This is the worst idea you've ever had. I don't think they're gonna be able to repair that one anymore."

Punk shrugs. "Ain' da firsh dime you cosh me a toof."

"Mm. Can you make it to medical on your own?"

Punk cracks his neck and rolls his shoulders. He's stopped shaking, and his eyes are clearer, if tired. He rises to his feet slowly, keeping a hand on the back of the chair. He seems stable enough.

"I 'hink 'm fine."

"Good."

He steps out of the shower, taking the chair with him. Joe takes his place. He looks like a crime scene. Bloodstained in far worse places than Punk was. He hears the door open and close, not even a goodbye. Whatever. He's got more than teeth missing in his head, but it's not Joe's responsibility to chase after and babysit him. Punk wouldn't want him to. He wants the same thing from Joe, every time, win or lose. Punishment.

He'll be back, eventually. He always comes back.

[wrestlingwiththoughts]

"Hangman" Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland, AEW Full Gear 2023, November 18, 2023

In middle school and high school, a girl and I called each other "soulmates." Whether each of us knew what that charged term means or even if each of us used the term the same ways is unknown and probably irrelevant. I can only say that she meant a lot to me then, and it crushed me when our relationship, whatever it was to each of us, ended. Nonetheless, I like to pick at scars, so I would search for her on social media and on search engines when the sleep that's owed to me is dodging me or if I'm caught in a moment without other distractions. Don't ask why I searched; I don't have a satisfactory answer to give myself, much less you.

Through the years, there was nothing until there was something. Having found her, having seen that she was fine and successful and alive and smiling, at least in that professional headshot, I was able to close the door to that room in my mental holding facility.

At AEW Grand Slam 2023, as I knew my relationship with AEW had ended. The fans around me laughed when Toni Storm, in the early life of her current Timeless Toni persona, attacked Saraya during their match with her shoe. I knew that the company would just make this ridiculous character even sillier. The teenage fans a row away cheered for an obnoxious, saccharine, and unpleasant Maxwell Jacob Friedman over Samoa Joe, a serious competitor who, in AEW at least, has told professional wrestling stories. The company presented something that other fans enjoyed but that I detested. I mourned the end of this relationship and moved on to other companies; after all, I had Dragongate and All Japan Pro Wrestling matches to watch.

Nonetheless, AEW is a hard presence to avoid, and so I couldn't help but hear the praise for the Texas deathmatch between "Hangman" Adam Page and Swerve Strickland at Full Gear 2023. It supposedly exemplified the old AEW spirit, the idea that the company could offer something that no one else could: intense professional wrestling that felt dangerous, was presented with high production values, and was easily accessible to American consumers. I had to pick at this scar and watch.

Page and Strickland's match lived up to the hype and delivered violence and spectacle that felt fresh and energizing. I slapped my couch when Page stapled his child's drawings on Strickland's face. I hollered when Page laid below Strickland and drank Strickland's falling blood. I jumped up in excitement when Strickland hanged Page until Page was unresponsive to the referee's ten count. It was, in a word, awesome.

But then I remembered that we were supposed to believe that Strickland invaded Page's house and stood over Page's sleeping child. And I read in the show results that Maxwell Jacob Friedman overcame a fake leg injury, drove the ambulance into the venue, and beat Jay White in the main event. And the blood that was quickened by Page and Strickland's hard work slowed and I remembered why I felt like AEW and I had very different visions of what we wanted and where we were going. And I turned off my tablet and walked away.

I might still listen when I hear about AEW now and going forward; it's hard to not at least hear what's happening in the second biggest wrestling company in the world. I might even be happy to see that it's doing well. However, I've closed the door to AEW's room in my mental holding facility, and like my soulmate, I'm okay knowing that it's okay and hopefully thriving on its without feeling like I need to seek it out and try to reconnect like we once did.

[punkvseverybody]

Enough with this "CM Punk is toxic" crap.

I keep hearing people talk about how "toxic" CM Punk is and how he was a "cancer" to the AEW lockeroom and I've kind of had it with this crap. I keep reading on how basically everybody backstage didn't like him and I'm seriously curious to know who these people are. No, seriously. Sting and Darby didn't have a problem with Punk; Hobbs and Starks had nothing but nice things to say about him, as did Max Caster and Lee Moriarty; Wardlow and MJF worked tremendosly well with Punk; Brock Anderson asked him for advice and I bet Arn didn't have a problem with Punk either; Jade Cargill got some help in training by Punk; I'm convinced that Punk and Eddie Kingston are actually friends but pretend to hate each other just for shit and giggles but even if the hate was real they still did great business together; Punk really likes Adam Cole; Brian Pillman Jr. likes Punk; Daniel Garcia loved working with Punk, Samoa Joe is Punk's buddy; Punk and Malakai Black are friends; FTR loves Punk, so does Danhausen; Jim Ross, Mark Henry and Taz like Punk and so does Hook which Punk put over after a show for the amusement of the crowd; Christian, Bryan Danielson, Shawn Spears, Claudio Castagnoli, William Regal, Moxley, Miro, Paul Wight, Matt Sydal, Jake Hager, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, Christopher Daniels and Dustin Rhodes all go way back with Punk and maybe some of them don't like him, I don't know, but he never had any problems with them or at least not so big to stop him from working with them professionally. Who else? Thunder Rosa, Britt Baker, Saraya, Ruby Soho, Renee, Serena Deeb... Not problem at all with Punk. So, apart from the EVPs and their buddies, who exactly doesn't like and doesn't want CM Punk in AEW? How come CM Punk's AEW run was going great until he had to work with one of the EVPs' buddies in Hangman Adam Page? Why is it that all those rumors about people not liking Punk and him being the reason for Cabana almost getting fired started getting out around that exact time? CM Punk believed that the EVPs were spreading bullshit rumors to their media friends (Meltzer in primis) and he wouldn't have done it so publicly had he not been sure about it and guess what, they're still doing it! I just saw one of Wrestling Observer Live's most recent videos where Meltzer kept burying Punk basically calling him a liar. When will people learn that one of Punk's main characteristics is his honesty? That's why he has a bad reputation, that's why a lot of people don't like him, because a lot of people don't like honest straight foward people who tell it like it is right in your face. WWE sued him after he told the truth about what happend to him and the stuff about their doctor and he freaking won the case, for fuck sake. Okay, I guess I'm done.

[dreadwhoop]

Reviewing the All Elite Wrestling personnel 2023 Edition (Part 3) -

GET RID OF -

No I've not lost my mind hear me out - Hook is a great prospect and well-guarded in the booking. He is a special attraction. This is it. They don't know what to do now. If the company had sense he'd of done stuff with guys they still have like Ogogo or even Samoa Joe. What would you do with Hook in AEW? For me I'd send him to NJPW and let him develop his technical skills - at the least make him Shibata's protege just don't make him suffer because he's not going to kiss ass to the establishment. I have no faith AEW will do anything with Hook when they've already pushed the wrong talents. He's got to go to grow.

Limitless dissapointment. What a tragic example of someone who can't reach his potential because of a complete lack of wanting it. Keith Lee is the guy who will smile at Jay White taking every spot and thumbs up a Swerve Strickland for wanting to adapt. Indubitably the only thing he resembles of a Junkyard Dog is the 'Junk' aspect. I do not dislike him but his sporadic appearences have tarnished what could of been a revival to his lackluster WWE career. Now I can only look at him as an overgrown mark for himself. The kind of luxury supercar who can only reach second gear.

Not a wrestler. NEXT.

He's returned to the mildest interest imaginable. Remember folks - a former TNT Champion and Tag Champion. This is 2/3 of the Triple Crown. Only Luchasaurus has accomplished this as well. Does he have blackmail on Tony Khan? Nothing about him is original and better talent have got less. Granted he's not winning anything but what do you expect? AEW outgrew him in the 4 years since becoming a weekly syndicated show. What has he done? Stagnated. Be it Kazarian or Ethan Page or anyone he's juxtaposed to he always comes off as the second stringer, the sidekick, the assist. Not a star.

I believe everyone in this world deserves a 2nd chance. Or even a 3rd chance if they've been so successful before and you understand they really want to try. Jeff Hardy has had his last chance more than 3 chances ago. It takes away from others how much he's given and it's beyond unfair. We live in a world where Tessa Blanchard is never given a single chance and is punished for calling "The Black Rose" a derogatory slur, fair enough, but we'll allow a DUI repeat offender the 'chance' to return and he's twice the age of Tessa. What do you think? If the 'crimes' were reversed would you still let Jeff Hardy back in? Of course AEW would - this is why it's just a vanity project and not one built on moral principles. Even if you disregard it the guy is a husk of what he once was so stop embarrassing the nostalgia.

"Protect me from myself" is the wrestler's mantra. Wrestlers are there to put their bodies on the line and expect their opponent(s) to help them keep things safe. Referees are meant to support this. Rick Knox was recently involved in the contraversial Rey Fenix International title win over Moxley. This isn't the first time a guy concussed/KOed has had no help from him look up 'Alex Reynolds knocked out' and look who the ref was there too. He's an amateur and dangerously naive to the well-being of the roster. At best he's careless. At worst malicious. See Jeff Hardy on 'chances'.

I could copy-paste what I said on Ruby Soho and be done with it. For everyone's safety, including her own, for the dignity of wrestling, and the chance for the women's division to mean anything, and belts to not just be used to keep broken wrestlers together, we need her to go - Britt Baker herself said it best - the industry has moved past her. It's now being held back from growing further.

Remember earlier what I said on Hook? This is one example. For a living bar of prison soap, nothing feels clean with this limpet around - I've never seen a guy more in need of having a mask put on him and, like Hook, I'd send him from AEW but instead to a landfill. The only good thing about him is his age which means he has time to go away and return better but, more likely, he's here to stay and infect airtime with negative ratings. A 'change the channel' wrestler.

I'll say this - he's incredible for his age and for the fact since I began watching wrestling he's been around…granted I've tried my best to avoid watching him but guess he thought better. His bit has run its course, get rid of the loose faction around him, free Jay Lethal, and let him be a booker or something. His mind is what is important not his body of work.

The time has come to finally talk about Sammy Guevara - a man I danced around with for 4 years debating whether he should be pushed or go. He should go. Here's why - Sammy Guevara is one of the best talents AEW has got so what's the problem? He can't overcome his own insecurities. He has to be associated with someone. He has to be involved with people who drag him down and, consequently, he's comfortable with it. When the Inner Circle and Pinnacle storyline happened it should of culminated with Guevara becoming the new leader and Jericho eventually breaking off to do his own ego faction. This way Guevara could of feuded with MJF on a more serious level. None of this happened. In fact Guevara has been stuck slowly grinding on the spot without a care. When he discussed why he joined Don Callis he could of mentioned Jericho gave him bad habits and his reliance to do his moves is why he lost NOT because he was just 'sick and tired' of Jericho my god what a bore. If Guevara becomes an AEW World Champion by the time next October runs around this company will die an agonising death.

[danwhobrowses]

10 (Subjective) Booking Directions for AEW after Full Gear 22

So Full Gear is in the books, as is my review of it. Normally that'd be that.

But my mood has soured upon learning that an Orange Cult Leader was let back onto a dying social media platform, also the guy who played the best Power Ranger (who also was an MMA fighter and trained to be a Pro Wrestler) had passed away today, so I wanna do something else to boost my mood: Fantasy Booking! ...to an extent at least.

So here's a few things I personally think AEW should do in the aftermath of Full Gear

Spoilers for Full Gear below

10 - Save Powerhouse Hobbs Samoa's Joe TNT title win has come at the great expense of Powerhouse Hobbs. Having assaulted Wardlow having come back from losing to Starks, Hobbs took the fall in the triple threat, making him a double loser since all his attacks meant nothing. Given that Wardlow and Joe look to continue into Final Battle, it leaves Hobbs in desperate need of a win but little places to do it. If he's not winning the TNT title, I believe we should push Hobbs to usurp Orange Cassidy for the All Atlantic title, which will enable him to take on a variety of opponents while also having a big win over a well-booked opponent.

9 - Faction Fixing Not every faction is doing well right now, The Factory continues to be the most undercard of factions, the AFO and Dark Order are in a continued feud for 10 which overstayed its welcome, and The Firm - given that they did legitimately turn on MJF and it wasn't just a play - are kinda lacking in anything outside of Ethan's eliminator run. In terms of the AFO and Factory I feel like a downsize is needed, free up Comoroto to go alone and maybe Ogogo, the AFO should really disband too - since Andrade looks to wanna run out his contract it's harmful to Butcher, Blade and Angelico to continue association without purpose, Butcher and Blade could side more with Kip and Penelope since Allie already is friendly with them, Angelico meanwhile should find a place where his technical mastery is better utilized, either in or out the company. Dark Order can survive losing 10 to RUSH, but I don't think it'd help any of them, honestly I'd love to see Dark Order team with Bandido - having helped him fend off Jose in his eliminator match - and then call on Hangman to help, then they can be a fuller faction again (I call them the Outlaw Stars), if we can pay to get Stu back that'd also be a bonus, Uno needs his tag partner. As for the Firm, it's perhaps the most fixable since there are some lingering things here and there, we can address the Hardy Party stuff properly but I'm most concerned really of finding W. Morrissey something to do.

8 - Finalize the Final Battle card sooner rather than later Following up on these things, ROH's Final Battle card is missing a few matches, all we know feels set is Athena vs Mercedes and Joe vs Wardlow, so it's best to make sure we get Final Battle set so we can build to it. Jericho will of course need a marquee opponent (Eddie Edwards, Nigel McGuinness, Jay Briscoe, Davey Richards are names that have been thrown around before), meanwhile FTR may need more than just The Gunns to face, we could pull a 4-Way given how the Kingdom got involved with them a little and BCC stared them down last PPV. The Embassy could also get a win over Dalton & the Boys while Garcia can meet a technically gifted opponent. The point being is that the sooner we set the card, the more time we have to build to it.

7 - Konosuke Takeshita title agenda Konosuke Takeshita is All Elite, which means now we must look towards putting a belt on this mega talent. Having fought for the ROH title before, Takeshita could be a great opponent for Garcia, he could also down the line be the undoing of the All Atlantic or TNT champion. Having gotten over with strong matches that mainly ended in defeat, it is key that Takeshita gets built like the star he is with the time AEW has him - given that, like the Joshi, AEW share him with another company, DDT.

6 - BCC in Disarray I never liked the idea of William Regal betraying Moxley for MJF because it meant the BCC lost their linchpin, he was the reason they are a faction after all. Now that it has happened we need to address the status of the BCC, I wouldn't want them to split but perhaps some infighting and uncertainty can move them away from fighting the JAS all the time. Bryan Danielson needs a win too, so an American Dragon rage tour could help, including trying to avenge Mox and also continuing the tension between him and Wheeler Yuta, and maybe having to fight Claudio a bit too to get it out of their system. Moxley though deserves his time off so let him have it.

5 - Best of Seven hits a House Call As a result of the hammer finish, the Trios Titles seem to be put to a Best of Seven series between the Elite and Death Triangle. While this will get the Elite more on TV after their investigation-mandated suspension, it will also serve to cement a heel turn for the Lucha Bros. However, seven of these matches is a lot, even for these talents, so perhaps instead of a hammer we should throw a spanner into the mix, a spanner named the House of Black. Vignettes have shown the House being reborn, so where better to make an impact then to lay out the two Trios champions teams and take the gold for themselves? While DT and Elite killing each other does give time for other Trios to be built up, the House coming back to win the gold seems like the strongest option to go for.

4 - Midcard Feuds Following Full Gear there are other talents not holding titles that need direction, while Swerve and Keith Lee are likely going to clash now, not every winner and loser has something to follow up on. Jungle Boy will need to propel himself to some position to take advantage of his cage match win, whereas Luchasaurus will need to bounce back from it. The same can be said for Darby, Lethal, Eddie Kingston, Bandido, Lance Archer, Top Flight and whoever loses between Ethan and Ricky. Establishing non-title midcard feuds will help AEW in the long run, since it'll provide matches with the stakes of others wanting to climb to a title shot, absent names such as 2point0, Miro (who does have a knee injury but should come back strong), Butcher & the Blade, the Blondes, Iron Savages, Tony Nese, Josh Woods, the Trustbusters (especially Sonny Kiss and Slim J), the former SCU, Dustin Rhodes, Hardy Party, Kip Sabian, the Kingdom, Chaos Project can benefit from getting to show more of their strength in positions where they're not being squashed. The women can also be strengthened by this, while we are waiting on the likes of Thunder Rosa, Leyla Hirsch, Red Velvet, Ruby Soho and Kris Statlander to be healthy (Abadon now more recently), AEW should work towards giving Shida, Riho, Yuka, Emi (and Mei), Skye Blue, Allie, Diamante, KiLynn King, Penelope, Willow, TayJay and Serena Deeb more tv time also.

3 - Depth for the Women's Division Continuing on from the women's part, AEW should look to bolster their division more, not just for depth but also to give tougher opposition for Jade Cargill. The babyface department is plagued with injuries so using the crossover value may be key in this, Jungle Kyona impressed on AEW Dark against Riho and in DPW, she would be a powerful opponent for Jade if Shida or Riho are a bit too above her punching level right now, Nixon Newell and Millie McKenzie are also available while AEW can also consider using TJPW talents Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, and Mizuki or even Stardom talents like Starlight Kid, Utami Hayashishita, and Guilia, or of course others I mean I could probably think of a whole women's PPV with those three rosters like a Women's Forbidden Door but that's another conversation. The point is that AEW's women needs more depth, and Jade will need to fight similar challenges to Nyla as she tries to get 50-0, or however close to 50 she gets before Kris is fit to get the W and title she deserves.

2 - Toni/Hayter III Jamie Hayter as champion is the right call no doubt, however the manner of her winning does mean that Toni was robbed of the title. In a fantasy scenario I could see Rosa stating how she planned to vacate her title to Toni after Full Gear so Hayter technically only won the Interim title, but realistically we can just go to the 'you didn't win on your own' avenue. Regardless, we should build to the rubber match between Toni and Hayter for Winter is Coming or New Year's Smash - ideally in a steel cage to avoid shenaniganry - and have Jamie win clean, cementing her role as champion but also starting the face turn and the inevitable Britt Baker feud.

1 - Mr. Beat Your Faves (aka. Year of Maxwell) MJF is the World Champion, so now we must look to how the landscape will change. Let's make no mistake, contrary to the cheers of New Jersey, MJF is still a heel, which means that he should face and beat a lot of popular babyfaces. I am talking going full Roman Reigns with this, because now Max is in the position where he can play Final Boss and throw opponents at plucky babyfaces who want the right to face him. If I were booking it at least, I'd have MJF beating every top talent come what may; Ricky, Wardlow, OC, PAC, Fénix, Dalton, Keith Lee, Bandido, Bryan, Claudio, Mox again, Darby, JB, Miro, Takeshita, Hangman, Kenny, and most importantly, give HOOK his first defeat. We could also give bonus points for retiring Dustin Rhodes I think if we gave him a similar match to how he faced Randy Orton that one time but with his career on the line it'd be a good sendoff for him. But we focus on Max looking and feeling unstoppable all year, even maybe more than a year, if done right we can make him the longest running AEW World Champion, and maybe even build it up to his billed 'bidding war of 24' where he can meet his eventual and emphatic downfall to the people's champion: Eddie Kingston.

But that's just some of what I think, RIP to Jason David Frank aka Tommy Oliver the Green Mighty Morphin/White Mighty Morphin/Red Zeo & Turbo/Black Dino Power Ranger and fuck Trump