Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bryan Danielson -- LET'S GOOOOOOO!!!! They start on the mat, trading holds, quick transitions, and quick escapes. They trade some kicks. Danielson catches Shibata's leg, maneuvers him into position for the Romero Special, but just stomps the knees instead, then traps the arm and stomps the elbow!!!!! Danielson hyperextends Shibata's arm over his shoulder. Shibata responds with elbows and kicks. Danielson with a butterfly suplex into a arm bar attempt, but Shibata blocks and escapes, transitioning beautifully into a bow and arrow! Danielson escapes and locks in a bow and arrow of his own. Shibata escapes into a lateral press for two, then grabs a double wrist lock.
Danielson shoves Shibata!!! They trade shoves, then they trade chops!!! Danielson picks the ankle, takes Shibata down, and traps and stomps the arm again!! Shibata sort of suplexes Danielson off the apron, and Danielson lands hard on his feet. Shibata lands a running PK on the apron to Danielson on the floor!! Shibata traps the arm and stomps on it twice!!! Shibata with a nasty kick to the back!! Shibata with a big kick to the injured arm!! Shibata lands a big pump kick to the face outside, then another running boot to the face!! Danielson sits Shibata in a chair outside and lands a running dropkick!
Danielson lands a shotgun dropkick off the top, then a running dropkick in the corner! Danielson goes for another, but Shibata cuts him off with a running boot in the corner, followed by vicious strikes!!!! Danielson lands another running dropkick, followed by chops and round kicks in the corner! Shibata with nasty elbows to the jaw, chops to the chest, and jabs to the face!!!!! Damn! Shiabta lands a running dropkick!!
Shibata lands a beautiful snap suplex for two, then locks in an ankle lock, but Danielson escapes with an ankle lock of his own! Shibata escapes and locks in an ankle lock again, then Danielson escapes and grabs an ankle lock of his own again. Danielson lands a leg-capture German suplex and goes for a rolling elbow, but Shibata catches him and plants him with an STO!!!!!!!! Nice!!!
They trade knees to the midsection. Shibata lands a quick DVD for two!!! Shibata with an elbow to the head! Shibata with a ripcord attempt, but Danielson reverses and lands the Busaiku knee!! Cover, but Shibata kicks out at two!!!!!!!! Danielson attempts the LeBell lock, then traps the other arm to prevent a rope break, but Shibata gets his foot on the rope.
Danielson lays in the round kicks!!!! Shibata sits down and asks for more!!! Shibata eats the kicks, then rolls through the last kick, rolling to his feet and landing a nasty pump kick to the face!!!!!! Ahhhh!!!!! Shibata with elbows to the face, Kawada kicks to the head, then DISGUSTING round kicks to the chest!!!!!! I am freaking out!!!! Eat your heart out Danielson!!!!! Danielson absorbs the kicks and asks for more!! Nice!!! They both sit down and face each other! They trade NASTY PALM STRIKES TO THE FACE AND NECK!!!!!!! Damn!!!!! They stand and continue to trade strikes!! Danielson finally gets the best of this with a round kick to the head!! Danielson goes for the Busaiku knee again, but Shibata avoids it and LANDS HIS SIGNATURE RIPCORD BITCH SLAP TO THE FACE!!!! I AM LOSING IT!!!
Shibata grabs a flying octopus hold and maneuvers Danielson to the mat. He tries to get Danielson's shoulders down but can't, and Danielson gets a foot on the rope to break. Shibata goes for a PK, but Danielson ducks it and rolls Shibata up for two! They trade beautiful pinning combos and near falls!!!! Shibata gets a jacknife for only a one count. Danielson escspes, grabs the arm, and transitions into the LeBell lock, but he can't lock it all the way in. Shibata gets Danielson's shoulders down for two, but Danielson reverses into a pinning combo of his own for three!!!!
THAT SLAPPED SO HARD!!!!!! I AM FREAKING OUT!! Beautiful submission wrestling that devolved into a strong style slug fest, with incredible back and forth throughout the match. Exactly my cup of tea in every way. Shibata is the GOAT!!!!!!! Rating: 4.5
Julia Hart (c) vs. Trish Adora for the TBS Championship -- Julia slams Trish's head into the steps a few times and throws her into the barricade outside. Trish lands a shoulder breaker onto her knee for two, then lands a nice German suplex from her knees into a bridge for two. Julia ultimately gets the pinfall with a moonsault off the top. This was kind of an awkward match. Rating: 2
Zak Knight and Harley Cameron with Lexy. Zak says he will give Angelo Parker a fight, but it won't be in Canada and it won't be on Angelo's terms.
Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty -- Moriary lands an aggressive topé, as Garcia is distracted by Shane Taylor outside. Moriarty lands a belly to belly suplex and holds onto the arm/hand for some joint manipulation. Garcia stomps a mud hole in Moriarty in the corner, then lands a nasty chop block to the knee and slams the leg back repeatedly into the mat! Garcia lands a belly to back suplex for two. Moriarty tries to run at Garcia in the corner, but his leg gives out. Moriarty lands a double stomp to the chest! Garcia catches his leg and viciously locks in a heel hook for the submission!!
A short match and a decisive win for Garcia, which I love to see. I know these two would have had a great match if they went longer, but what we got here was solid. Rating: 2.5
Pac vs. Aaron Solo -- Solo with a nice kick to the head and topé con giro to the outside to start. But it's all Pac from there with stomps in the corner, vicious kick combinations, a shotgun dropkick off the top, a running uppercut, a Black Arrow, then the Brutalizer for the submission victory.
Short and sweet!!! Nice return to the ring for Pac, who is looking as great as ever!! It is so good to have him back. Rating: 2
Pac grabs a mic. He says he is back, and he is looking for trouble, and this (Solo) is not exactly what he had in mind. He addresses Tony Khan, telling Tony to find him some trouble, or he will find it himself!!! Um, hell yeah!!!!!!!
Danielson promo. He says he is thankful he was able to wrestle Shibata tonight after they were both told they would never wrestle again. He is also thankful that he has a match with Ospreay at Dynasty. He mentions Ospreay's comment about watching Danielson when he was young and trying to emulate Danielson, as well as Ospreay's comment that he doesn't plan on dying in the ring with Danielson. Danielson says this tells him that Ospreay may have watched and tried to emulate him, but Ospreay can't walk in his shoes or Shibata's shoes. He and Shibata have been on death's door because of how much they love this. So Ospreay can say what he wants about what he is willing do to. Danielson knows what he is willing to do, and he doesn't think Ospreay is ready for that. Great stuff from Danielson here, coming off very real and genuine as usual.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lance Archer -- They trade shoulder tackles and body slams early on. Archer lands a cannonball senton off the apron onto Claudio on the floor! That looked painful. Archer dominates for a while, then Claudio turns it around with a vertical suplex and running uppercut. Archer lands a big lariat. Archer tries to walk the ropes, but Claudio pulls him down into a big uppercut for two. Archer blocks the Giant Swing and rolls outside, but Claudio follows with a running uppercut outside. Claudio goes to the top, but Archer stops him with a rising knee. Archer lands a chokeslam for two. Claudio lands a nice DVD, uppercuts in the corner, then a rope-hanging stunner for two. Claudio with a nice springboard spinning uppercut off the ropes for two. Claudio gets Archer in the Swing, but The Righteous break it up for the DQ finish.
That was a decent match that was starting to pick up when it ended with a stupid DQ. What was the point of that finish? Rating: 2.75
Danielson comes out to help Claudio as he is being attacked by The Righteous and Archer. The Righteous take Danielson down. Shibata comes out to threaten them with a chair, and they back down.
Ruby and Angelo with Lexy backstage. Angelo says he was ready for a match against Zak tonight with his family in the crowd. And if Zak doesn't want a match tonight, he's going to get a fight, because Angelo is going to find him. Ruby says they are baiting Angelo in, and if he goes looking for a fight, he will have to do it without her. Angelo says she is right, and he will leave it alone for tonight.
Kyle O'Reilly vs. Bryan Keith -- O'Reilly with a nice running knee, then runs at Keith as he sits on the mat, stops short, and slaps him in the face! Beautiful. Abdominal stetch by Keith. Nice DDT by Keith for two. Keith with knees to the head. They trade round kicks outside. O'Reilly with a kitchen sink, then his beautiful kick/palm strike/knee/leg sweep combo, then a running forearm in the corner!! O'Reilly hyperextends the arm over his shoulder, then lands a back suplex into a knee bar, but Keith rolls to the ropes. O'Reilly locks in a guillotine, transitions into a triangle, then lets go and lands a vicious PK!!!! O'Reilly goes to the top, but Keith takes him down with a jumping headbutt! Keith with a big knee to the head for two! Keith with a double underhook into a powerbomb for two! O'Reilly lands his beautiful axe and smash combo, and I freak out!! Keith with an enziguri! They both go for kicks at the same time and both block repeatedly. O'Reilly lands the rebound lariat!!!! Nigel says on commentary, "That's mine." 🥺🥺🥺. O'Reilly lands a brainbuster for two, then locks in an armbar for an immediate submission!!! Nice!!!
Very good match here!!! O'Reilly did his thing as always, and looked so, so great. I could not be happier to have him back. I have missed him so much. Rating: 3.25
Roddy and the Kingdom come out to celebrate with O'Reilly after the match. Seeing O'Reilly back from a career-threatening injury after almost two years, seeing Roddy with that belt around his waist, and seeing those guys together.... My heart overflows. 😭😭😭
Lexy with Deonna and Thunder Rosa. They talk about teaming against Toni and Mariah next week. Deonna says they may have never teamed before, but they have fought each other before and she trusts Rosa. She says Toni tapped at Revolution, and if not for interference from the butler and Mariah, she would have the title. Rosa asks does she mean the title that Rosa never lost? Rosa says they have a mission next week against Toni and Mariah.
Buddy Matthews and Brody King vs. Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo (Wild Card Match to Qualify for the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament) -- HOB jump Dean and Bravo before the bell and dominate the early part of the match. Nice cannonball in the corner by King, then double teams by HOB. Dean tags in and eats it off the top, but gets right back up with a back suplex to Matthews. King comes in with a big lariat to Dean. Bravo comes in to help, but eats a nice knee from Matthews. HOB land Dante's Inferno on Dean, but Bravo breaks up the pin. Matthews with a nice jumping knee to Bravo on the apron, sending him into the arms of King on the outside, who just hurls him with a body slam onto the announce table!! Nice! King then lands a piledriver on Bravo on the announce table! Matthews curb stomps Dean's head in the ring and covers him. He is out, but Matthews pulls him up before three for more punishment. Matthews goes to the top, but here comes Mark Briscoe, who takes Matthews down with a chair to the head!! Dean covers Matthews for three!
Wow! Crazy stuff here with HOB dominating the match until getting screwed by Mark. Still shocked HOB lost, even with the interference. This was a solid match though, and it gets extra points for a genuinely surprising finish. Rating: 3
Copeland comes out with a big case and a mic. He says he won't call Christian "Jay" anymore. Jay is dead. He has become Christian Cage. He has bought it all, his ego is out of control. Copeland thought since they were friends before wrestling, they would be friends after. He says Christian was on board with him coming to AEW. He came to AEW to retire with Christian, not to take his spotlight that he has earned. He talks about earning his title shot, and having it taken away by being taken out with a conchairto from the Patriarchy. He says he got a phone call from Foley, who helped him remember who he is. He is someone who has dark caves in his head that Christian has never navigated. He introduces a weapon he has made, which he calls "spike." He says next Wednesday, Christian will be in the hospital. He and spike are going to take away Christian's pride, his ego, and his manhood. He will make Christian say two words that will cause Christian to never be able to look his daughters in the eyes again, "I quit."
Solid promo by Copeland here. The spike thing is a little corny for me though.
So I've been browsing through BehindTheName (great resource!) recently and have compiled several name lists. Here are some names, A-Z, that I like.
NOTE: If you want to use any of these please verify sources, meanings etc, I just used BehindTheName to browse and find all of these. Under the cut:
you know what Novelmore fans need? headcanons about the main characters’ absent parents, obviously. so here we go.
Arwynn’s mother, Queen Llewella:
since John is an English name but Arwynn is a Welsh name I decided that clearly Arwynn’s mother needed a Welsh name too.
late wife of King John, she died about a decade ago. Arwynn’s memories of her are fuzzy, but he resembles her in a lot of ways.
John had lighter blond hair than Arwynn, so I thought it would make sense for Llewella to be a strawberry blonde.
I haven’t decided how I think John and Llewella would have gotten together - it was either an arranged marriage that worked out well enough for them, or he had some kind of dramatic Married A Peasant For Love arc decades ago.
Brody’s mother, Captain Barabal:
Brody is a Scottish name, but Bayron is ... apparently the Spanish form of an English name? so mom gets a Scottish name!
his birth was a strategic political arrangement - his mother is loyal to Lord Bayron, but the two were never married. he was born out of wedlock and is only tolerated as much as he is by virtue of being of noble blood and the only heir to the throne.
since Brody’s description on the playmobil site said he’d been travelling between kingdoms before the plot begins, I thought it’d be fun if his mom was a privateer and he was on her crew. he doesn’t receive parental affection from her, but she does pay him more respect than Bayron does - she doesnt treat him like a son, but recognizes that he could potentially become her future boss so she’s more strategic in how she treats him. mostly she tries to keep him busy and out of her hair.
Gwynn’s parents, Geoffrey and Bronwen Greystone:
in the show Gwynn’s uncle is named Bran while the figure of her uncle in the toyline is named Geoffrey. these are based on the show, so I’m using Geoffrey as the name of her dad.
uncle Bran is credited as Lord Greystone so that means he should be Geoffrey’s brother? but since Bran is a Welsh name while Geoffrey is a French name that was converted to English, I like the idea that theyre from two different cultural backgrounds + Bran is Gwynn’s maternal uncle. so mom gets a Welsh name :P
anyways Geoffrey is probably still alive, just living out in the wilderness. I get the feeling that Bronwen is... Not alive, though. Gwynn seems like someone who was heavily influenced by being raised as a woman without a female role model of any kind.
won’t lie to you - I based Bronwen on Snow White (iirc Gwynn means white) while I based Geoffrey on the Huntsman. not for any reason other than I felt allusions to either or both would fit Gwynn, in particular - its just to tie them to her, thematically! :P
Dario’s parents, Ser Claudio and Monna Annabella da Vanci:
Obviously the character with an Italian name, based on an Italian historical figure, is going to have parents with Italian names.
This means that Dario’s full name is actually Dario di ser Claudio da Vanci (meaning “Dario, son of Claudio from Vanci”)
Claudio, naturally, was the son of Dario the first - while he was a talented engineer and inventor like his father before him, he was more passionate about sculpting. He became well-renown for his sculptures, and was often commissioned by King John.
since Dario II is the last of the da Vanci family, we know that Claudio and Annabella must both be dead - or at least Claudio is. Annabella theoretically could still be alive, but likely would have remarried into a different family and become a little distant if so.
Claudio’s design is based on paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, somewhat, while Annabella’s design is based on the Mona Lisa.
Faylinn’s parents, Archer and Nadiye Fletcher:
uh... the thing is, Faylinn isn’t a name I can find previously documented use of, but there are the similar names Faelin, Faelynn, and Faylene. All English. so dad gets an English name. but Faylinn's outfit seems to take inspiration from a different culture, and to me it resembles Ottoman-era Turkish traditional clothing. so her mom gets a Turkish name.
currently thinking Nadiye was a merchant from a small community at the edge of Sal’ahari Sands. she traveled to Novelmore to sell her wares, until she settled down with Archer. she still sells homemade textiles and pottery, but no longer needs to travel such long distances to make a living.
Archer, obviously, being an archer. Faylinn was likely taught how to use a bow and arrow by her dad, given the circumstances...
Danhausen vs Little Jimmy(I SAID WHAT I FUCKING SAID LOL)
Skye Blue vs Tatum Paxley
Anna Jay and Tay Melo vs Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez
Swerve Strickland vs Trick Williams
Ricky Starks vs Carmelo Hayes
Bryan Danielson vs Ilja Dragunov
Austin Theory vs Sammy Guevara
Bobby Lashley vs Powerhouse Hobbs vs Brody King vs Braun Strowman vs Lance Archer vs Omos in Meat Madness
Uncle Howdy and Alexa Bliss vs Malakai Black and Julia Hart
The Usos vs The Young Bucks vs The New Day vs FTR vs American Alpha(for one night only Jason Jordan comes out of retirement) in a Tag Team Gauntlet match
Seth Rollins vs Will Ospreay
Asuka and Kairi Sane vs Hikaru Shida and Riho
Gunther vs Kazuchika Okada
Eddie Kingston vs Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn vs Darby Allin
Becky Lynch vs Britt Baker
Bayley vs Willow Nightingale
Jade Cargill vs Mercedes Mone
Athena vs Bianca Belair
Toni Storm vs Iyo Sky
Charlotte Flair vs Kris Statlander
Rhea Ripley vs Jamie Hayter
Drew McIntyre Vs. Hangman Adam Page
Jon Moxley vs Mick Foley in a Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch
HELLOOO!!! This is a list of wrestlers in AEW who I will write for more often, open to having requests of others who aren’t on here. Don’t be scared to ask or send messages :)
More stats under the cut, along with my observations, commentary, and some of my favorite tags...
Most total votes this week (most enthusiasm)
Brody King - 446 votes
CM Punk (Straight Edge Society) - 386
Cody Rhodes (Dashing) - 342
Donovan Danhausen (no makeup) - 325
Jade Cargill - 296
And least total votes this week (least enthusiasm)
Dynamite Kid - 135 votes
Yoshihatsu - 163
Seiya Sanada (blond beard) - 164
James Drake - 169
Cowboy Bob Orton - 183
The closest poll was the Butcher and the Blade, who lost 106-108
Top Tag Teams/Trios
The Golden Lovers - 80.4% smash
Unholy Union - 74.3% smash
Best Friends - 66.7% smash
Motor City Machine Guns - 65.5% smash
Team XTreme - 63.9% smash
There were no changes to the overall standings for singles wrestlers this week, and with 250 poll results, I think it's pretty unlikely we'll get a lot of movement in the future. I'm removing them from the wrap-up posts to save you guys some scrolling unless there is a change to the rankings.
The rankings for the three CM Punk polls thus far are:
Regular CM Punk - 67.9% smash (and 527 total votes!)
Straight Edge Society CM Punk - 62.7%
Ring of Honor CM Punk - 59.7%
You folks narrowly prefer Danhausen in facepaint (68.8% smash) to nakedface Donovan Danhausen (66.9%) And you strongly prefer SANADA without the blond hair and beard (69.7% smash vs 52.4% smash).
Apologies for being so late this week. No real excuse, just tired. The next wrap-up will also be late because I'm going out of town. If I'm not exhausted from traveling, I'll post on Monday. I have polls queued until then so the smashing and passing will continue.
And now for some of my favorite tags and comment
@cheveuxroux on Lance Archer: #saw him up close and can confirm he's very handsome in person#he has great skin which is a really weird thing to say about a wrestler
@heelhausen on Straight Edge Society CM Punk: #he has a messiah complex and brother I will be the devil tempting him after forty days and nights in the desert
@regalityandcoffee on Straight Edge Society CM Punk: #smash but im sitting on his face so he cant lecture me
@lghockey on Brody King: #this big meaty man can slap my meat lmfao
writing5novelsatonce on Blond Beard SANADA: #the only thing I want to do to this iteration of Sanada is put a deep moisturizing mask into that fried hair and that crispy beard
do drafts?? NAH, add three new muses that are siblings from a wealthy and famous dynasty family. give this a like for a little starter from one ( or more?? ) of them ;;
THE ARCHERS ;;
TEDDY: Lazy but loveable author who's written a couple of semi-successful novels, coasts by on that and his inheritance.
FULL NAME: Theodore William Archer II AGE: 33-38 ORIENTATION: Bisexual
OCCUPATION: Writer LIKES: Expensive bourbon, libraries, clubs.
FAVORITE KINKS: Daddy kink, bondage, overstimulation ROLE: Dominant
10 WORDS OR LESS: Charming. Relaxed. Old money. Black sheep. Hedonistic. Cocky. The eldest.
;; portrayed by adam brody ;;
LINCOLN: Groomed to take over the family business ever since it was clear Teddy wouldn't be, too busy for bullshit.
FULL NAME: Lincoln Maxwell Archer AGE: 26-30 ORIENTATION: Straight
OCCUPATION: Executive LIKES: Control, opulence, order.
FAVORITE KINKS: Dirty talk, obedience, degradation ROLE: Dominant
10 WORDS OR LESS: Perfectionist. Cold. Selfish. Golden child. Manipulative. Intelligent. The middle.
;; portrayed by jacob elordi ;;
THORA: Talented but flakey actress, is great when she wants to be, gets away with a lot due to her name.
FULL NAME: Thora Christine Archer AGE: 21-25 ORIENTATION: Straight
OCCUPATION: Actress LIKES: The spotlight, romance movies, drama. .
FAVORITE KINKS: Praise, exhibitionism, daddy kink ROLE: Submissive
10 WORDS OR LESS: Kind. Spontaneous. Honest. Hopeless romantic. Passionate. Nepo-baby. The youngest.
;; portrayed by natalia dyer ;;
Fuck it, had some more ideas for the Clem and the Olympians AU
The St. Johns are either Cyclopes or Laistrygonians, I haven't decided which yet.
Everybody's least favorite shows up! It's the Stranger! I imagine he'd be the father of a now dead demigod (Maybe a Roman one? Just to allude to Camp Jupiter earlier than PJO canon) and he runs into Clementine while she's on her first or second quest and decides she's a good enough replacement. As you can imagine, it would not end well for him.
Lilly and Lee's ill fated quest happened a good fifteen or so years before Clementine came to camp. Lilly remained bitter about how poorly it went for about ten years before Kronos started whispering to her.
Clem may have an extra three years to worry about the Great Prophecy, but that comes with the downside of being nine when Lightning Thief occurs.
I'm thinking about making Jane's sister one of the Big Three? Maybe she's the daughter of Zeus that got turned into a tree and Jane's her nomadic half sister from a different god? idk
If Heroes of Olympus were to happen, it would be ten years after the Great Prophecy and AJ would be one of the Seven.
I thought about making James or Minnie and Sophie Hades kids too, but I kinda prefer only child Clementine. And now that I think about it, if they're older than her, that means either they need to die, the twins need to become Huntresses, or James ends up in the Lotus Hotel so that Clem can be the prophecy child.
Duck is a clear sighted mortal. He and Clementine meet during her first or second quest and keep in touch afterwards.
I wanna say that AJ's the kid of a minor god? I'm not sure which yet.
Sarah does eventually end up at Camp Half-Blood, although whether it's because Carlos dies or if he reluctantly decides she'd be safer there remains to be seen. She mostly works as a medic, but she can fight as an archer when needed.
Marlon, Tenn, Mitch, and Brody are all undetermined kids. I haven't decided if Ruby, Omar, Willy, and Aasim are too.