#quest friends aew

[minacoleta]

Quest Friends meet the Dark Order ✨

[homoeroticgrappling]

I did wonder when I saw the picture why they were dressed for totally different events, this is just so ridiculously on brand for Best Friends

[sgtbarnes107]

Manifesting this level of brutality and carnage in Orange’s revenge match against Trent.

[bullet-clubs-bitch]

Anyway I can request a Christian Cage x Copeland!Reader fic? The reader is married to Christian and they have their own little family together and while Adam is under the influence of Malakai Black’s mist he ends up injuring his baby sister since when he sees her it reminds him of the long standing feud he and his childhood best friend and his baby sister’s husband just went through and when Adam ends up hurting her, Christian makes sure to do everything in his power to make sure the love of his life is taken care of and protected?

The Kings of The Black Throne

Christian Cage X fem reader

Warnings: Blood, violence, injury

Main Masterlist Christian Cage Masterlist

An: I wrote another Christian Cage x Adam Copelands little sister fic that you can find HERE if you are interested. (I quite enjoy that fic)

For weeks now The House of Black had been after Adam. I watched on a weekly basis as the men beat him to a pulp and tried to brainwash him into joining their group. At first I enjoyed watching the torturous events take place but now I couldn't help but feel that all of this was more than getting Adam to join their cult. “Are you alright? You seem on edge?” Christian asked me. “I just have a bad feeling about all of this” “Why? You should be happy he’s finally leaving us alone” Christian told me. “I know but what could The House of Black want from him. Truly. He has nothing to offer them Christian. I can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe there's something bigger going on here” Christian had a point, I should have been happy that Adam was finally leaving us alone. He’s done nothing but cause trouble since the moment he stepped in AEW. He still couldn't accept the relationship between Christian and I. 15 years and three kids later he still couldn't accept it. He tried to tear my family apart, he tried to take the TNT title but of course he was no match for the patriarchy. 

Tonight our adopted son Nick Wayne was scheduled to have a match against Daniel Garcia on Dynamite. As the two of us got ready to go I ended up running into Adam, he had a dark look in his eyes. I didn’t think much of it, we had a match to win. The match was going well, everything was according to plan when all of a sudden the lights went out. Out of instinct I jumped into the ring and stood in front of Nick. That gut feeling had returned and was stronger than ever. Just then the lights turned on. I should have known The House of Black would be behind all of this. What did they want from us? “What the fuck do you want?” I spat at Malakai. “Trust me when I say it’s not you that I want. Who I’m after is your brother, Adam Copeland” “You can have him, I don’t fucking want him” “I really don’t want to be doing this sweatheart, I actually admire you but as much as you hate your brother I know he loves you” What was he talking about? Just then I felt it. The burning sensation of Malakai’s Mist. I could hear Nick’s screams of help but I couldn't do anything, I had been blinded by the mist. I was defenseless, Brody and Buddy held me down while Julia handcuffed Nick to the ring ropes. I couldn't see much but I noticed a dark figure match down towards the ring. I assumed it was Christian but was shocked when I saw Adam stand before me. 

“This is your final test” Malakai said to Adam as he handed him a steel chair. “Do it” he spat. “Think about all the harm she has caused you. Think about what she put you through. She cost you the TNT championship, she cost you your best friend. You are all alone Adam, your family, everyone you loved, gone. All of this is Y/n’s fault. Prove to us you are worthy. Join us, join us as we take over All Elite Wrestling. Join us on our quest to capturing the TNT championship” 

I knew it, I knew they were using him. They wanted to use me to get to Adam to get to Christian. It was a long plan, they took months planning this. Would it have been easier to ask Christian for a title shot? Absolutely but I must say I respected this plan of theirs. 

I could see the hesitation in Adam’s eyes. He couldn't do it, he was too weak. Just then I saw Julia whisper something in Adam’s ear. I didn’t know what she told him but I could see the effect it had on him. His eyes had turned black, the look on his face was cold and dead. They stole his soul. I don’t know what happened after that. All I remembered was waking up in a hospital bed. 

“You’re awake, how are you feeling baby?” Christian asked me carefully. “Where’s Nick?” I asked “Is he okay?” “Nick’s fine, he’s okay. It’s you that I’m worried about” He said as he carefully brushed his fingers on the fresh stitched on my skull. “What happened to you?” I asked him as I noticed his busted lip. “You were right about The House of Black. They attacked you honey. I tried to get out there but they locked me and Luchasaurus in our locker room. When I got there it was too late, I’m so sorry baby” I could see the tears start to form in his eyes as he spoke. “I should have listened to you, I should have been there to protect you. I failed you” I carefully wiped the tears that fell from his face. “It's okay, I’m okay” I told him reassuringly “No it��s not okay. I had to watch Adam crack your skull open with that chair and I could do nothing about it. I couldn't do anything when you were blinded by that mist. I watched them beat you to unconscious and I could do nothing about it. I really hoped my issues with Adam were over but it seems like they have just begun. I promise that I will do everything I can to get my revenge. I am going to take out the house of black one by one before I kill Adam with my bare hands. I will not rest until they pay for what they have done.” 

[johnpgolden]

Here’s a collection of AEW wrestlers I tried to sketch in the style of old school JRPG artwork. Think like Dragon Quest NPC and character art. Not gonna lie, it’s really satisfying seeing them all together!

Danhausen, The Best Friends, MJF, Abadon, The Dark Order and Julia Hart!

[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]

All In: London preview

MJF vs. Adam Cole - MJF is defending the AEW men's world title. Despite facing each other at the end of this show, these two will be teaming up in the pre-show to challenge for the ROH tag team title. The outcome of that match could completely change the complexion of this one.

Cole debuted in AEW two years ago as a douchebag heel, but after missing half of 2022 due to a concussion he returned as a babyface. On June 14 he and MJF fought to a 30-minute draw, which seemed to set up a rematch for the title. Before that could happen, though, Cole and MJF were thrown together in a parejas increíbles tournament. For weeks it looked like MJF was trying to con Cole into believing they could be friends, and Cole was trying to con MJF into believing it was working. After they won the tournament and unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW tag title, each man had nothing to lose by turning on the other. However, the pair seemed to genuinely bond over their shared douchebaggery, and MJF agreed to give Cole this title shot.

I've never been too big on either of these guys, so I wasn't too keen on them headlining this show. I was even less keen on getting there with a "wacky tag partners who hate pretend to love each other" story. But I have to admit, it's worked out brilliantly, and this is easily the hottest match AEW could deliver on their biggest show ever. They've got everybody wanting both guys to be babyfaces and desperately hoping neither of them turns, even though both of them have turned on every friend they've ever had.

I'm genuinely unsure if we'll see Max turn, or Cole turn, or if both guys will prove their friends forever. I had expected MJF to stab Cole in the back heading into this show. A turn at the end of this show would just serve to set up a rematch, which would be ass-backwards. You don't draw 80,000 at Wembley Stadium to run an angle to build to the real blowoff match in a smaller building. One way or another this has to be the climax of the story.

My gut says MJF will retain, but my head says anything could be on the table.

CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe - Punk is the self-proclaimed "real world champion," and he's defending that title here. Punk's claim is based on the idea that he won the AEW men's world title in September 2022 but never lost it in the ring due to an injury (among other things). Joe actually is the ROH television champion, but his title isn't on the line.

Joe and Punk had a famous trilogy of matches for the ROH men's world title in 2004, but from what I can tell they had a total of six one-on-one encounters between 2003 and 2005, before Joe went to TNA and Punk went to WWE. The two never crossed paths again until this summer, and Punk picked up his first win over Joe in July. Incensed, Joe demanded a rematch for this show, and ambushed Punk on August 12 when he didn't immediately respond. Punk finally accepted the challenge with an attack of his own, on the 19th.

Punk is clearly being set up for a "unification" match, possibly as soon as at All Out in Chicago next week. That leads me to think he'll have to win here, especially since his belt is on the line. I suppose there's a chance Joe could win to keep the feud going for another month or two. But it would make more sense for Joe to lose here and re-focus on defending the TV title in Ring of Honor.

Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs. Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson - FTR (Dax and Cash) are defending the AEW tag team title. Wheeler (the one with hair) made headlines when he was arrested on August 18 for aggravated assault with a firearm. Nevertheless, the match is still on. This is the third match in the series, after Young Bucks beat FTR in November 2020, and FTR got their win back in April 2022. It's also chapter 973 in the long-running quest to decide Who Is The Greatest Tag Team Of All Time. Something tells me this match won't answer the question anymore than the previous 972 matches did.

The long-running rivalry between the Bucks and FTR took a left turn last year when the Bucks and Kenny Omega were involved in a backstage fight with CM Punk. Ever since then FTR have been making the case for their buddy Punk to be forgiven so they can do a trios match. So even though FTR aren't technically involved in that real-life beef, and they're on good terms with the Bucks, the average wrestling fan can't help but see this match booked and think it's got something to do with Punk vs. the Elite. It'll be interesting to see if that factors into the crowd reaction on this show.

Despite Wheeler's legal woes, I can see this match going either way. (Even if they need to take the belts off of FTR, there'll be time to do that later.) The Bucks co-created All In and they're the Elite in All Elite Wrestling, so it would be fitting to win the big one on such a grand stage. But at the same time, FTR aren't the carpetbaggers from WWE they might have seemed to be three years ago--they're as much a part of the fabric of AEW now as anybody ever has been. The real winners in this one are the fans!

Hikaru Shida vs. Saraya vs. Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm - This is a four-way for the AEW women's world title, so whoever scores the first fall on any opponent wins the match and the belt. Shida recently won the title from Storm, who used her rematch clause to automatically get into this match; everyone else had to win a qualifying match. Saraya is from England and bound to get a hometown reaction; her ally Storm is from New Zealand but spent a good chunk of her career wrestling in the UK.

This should be a pretty standard "two good guys versus two bad guys" four-way. The two bad guys will expect to divide and conquer, until midway through the match they both suddenly realize they could steal a win from one another. The two good guys will go in knowing it's every woman for herself, but then midway through inexplicably get mad when they can't cooperate. Everything will break down until someone gets the win, which won't really settle anything. These four are nowhere near done feuding, so it really makes no difference who wins since they'll all be facing off for months to come.

Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi & Adam Page vs. Konosuke Takeshita & & Jay White & Juice Robinson - Don Callis turned on Omega back in May, and Callis's more recent protege Takeshita quickly followed suit. For some reason White and Robinson recently decided to help Callis beat up Omega. Luckily Kenny recently patched things up with Page after a three-year saga, and recently reunited with Ibushi in the latest chapter of a decade-plus saga.

Sting & Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland & Christian Cage - This is billed as a coffin match. Basically they'll put a coffin at ringside and the object of the match is to put your opponents inside it. Since it's two-on-two I'm not sure if you have to get both members of the opposing team into the same coffin, or if there'll be two coffins, or what.

Swerve made a big production of recruiting AR Fox to help him feud with Darby, only to turn on Fox this week. He then picked Cage--who has been feuding separately with Darby--to replace Fox in this match. The feud is largely about Nick Wayne, who was never in this match. This is not the most coherent storyline in the world. Sting has never lost a match in AEW and I don't expect him to start now.

Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho - Ospreay holds the IWGP United States championship, which he recently renamed the IWGP United Kingdom championship. New Japan Pro Wrestling hasn't officially recognized the change. As far as I can tell, the title isn't being defended here, but that could change at any moment. I don't know why Ospreay put a Union Jack on his belt if he's not going to bring it to Wembley fucking Stadium.

The backstory here is mainly about Don Callis, and his machinations to enlist top wrestlers aside from (and now in opposition to) Kenny Omega. Callis has made ovetures to Ospreay here and there for a year now. He recently tried to recruit Jericho, but that fell apart, except I guess he expected it to fall apart, so I don't know why he bothered trying in the first place. Anyway, Jericho hates Callis now so Ospreay beat him up. I'm still not sure if Will is going to actually join Callis's stable, which is a bit of a problem when the big story for months has been "who will join Don Callis's stable?"

They've positioned Jericho as the face and Ospreay as the heel, but I gotta think the London won't give a shit about that. Jericho probably needs a win after his de facto face turn, but he doesn't need it here and I'm not sure getting it here does him any good. I think it would be promotional malpractice if Ospreay doesn't win, but stranger things have happened.

Eddie Kingston & Orange Cassidy & Penta El 0 Miedo & Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta vs. Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta & Mike Santana & Angel Ortiz - This is billed as a "stadium stampede" match. Until now that meant two teams of wrestlers do a pre-taped brawl all over an empty stadium, but this one is going to be full of 80,000 spectators, so it'll probably be very different. Originally this was advertised as a six-on-six match, but Rey Fenix was pulled from the babyface side before the heel side was even fully assembled.

The Blackpool Combat Club (Mox, Claudio, and Yuta) has picked fights with everyone on the babyface side. The details of each grudge aren't important, aside from Eddie's undying hatred of Claudio, and his strained loyalties to Mox. Santana and Ortiz returned this week to join the BCC team. We haven't seen them together since June 2022, when they teamed alongside Eddie and the BCC, in a match where Santana was injured. Then in January 2023, Ortiz and Eddie turned against one another, and Ortiz largely disappeared from TV.

Judging from this week's promos, this match is going to be about the faces trying to fucking murder the heels. Eddie basically promised to set Claudio on fire. Will Chuck finally get to use a chainsaw? Only time will tell. I expect fifteen minutes of crazy violence and then somebody randomly wins with a drop toehold or something.

Malakai Black & Brody King & Buddy Matthews vs Max Caster & Anthony Bowens & Billy Gunn - The Acclaimed and Gunn are making their third bid to capture the AEW trios title from the House of Black. After their second loss in July, 59-year-old Billy left his boots in the ring and retired, but Black's team kept provoking the babyfaces until he returned this week for another go. I presume Billy's career is on the line here, insofar as there's no point in un-retiring if he just loses again, but there's no point in being retired if he wins a championship.

Billy's gimmick with the Acclaimed has been "Daddy Ass," but for this show he says he's bringing back "Bad Ass Billy Gunn," referring to his days with the New Age Outlaws back in the late 1990s. Wrestlers do this bit a lot, and they always want it to be like when Mankind turned into Cactus Jack, but it never really works for anybody but Mick Foley. What exactly is Bad Ass Billy Gunn gonna do that Daddy Ass couldn't? Oh well, I guess for one night I can pretend Billy used to be a super-tough mean guy 25 years ago.

It's too soon for the House of Black to drop the titles, but the time is just right for Billy and the Acclaimed to win them. I think we'll see new champs.

Jack Perry vs. HOOK - This is on the pre-show. Perry won the FTW championship from Hook on July 17, and this is the rematch. The FTW title was introduced by Hook's father Taz in ECW, and Perry hardly fits the aesthetic, so he gets heel heat just for having it. Jack was threatening to retire the title (so he could be the final champion) until Hook intervened, so I assume if he retains he'll proceed with that plan. He's not going to retain. Hook is going to whip him like a government mule.

Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher vs. MJF & Adam Cole - This is scheduled for the pre-show. Aussie Open (Davis and Fletcher) are defending the ROH tag team title. The story here is that Cole and MJF bonded while they were chasing the AEW tag title, so even though their squaring off in the main event, Cole still wants to win tag gold with his buddy. Cole and MJF have developed the double clothesline as their big tag team move, and it's actually gotten over. MJF has perfected a deadly kangaroo kick for use against Aussie Open, and that's also gotten over. So look for those spots in this match.

My hunch is that miscommunication between the challengers will allow Aussie Open to retain, setting up further intrigue between Cole and MJF on their way to the main event. However, I can't rule out the possibility that Cole and MJF win the belts, and then that sets up further intrigue in the main event. Davis and Fletcher have a bright future but frankly losing the ROH title here won't hurt them much, so I'd say anything could happen here.

[dirkmanning]

All Round One Stretch Goals have been unlocked on ARN ANDERSON: MY LIFE AS THE ENFORCER from @sourcepointpress, meaning every KS Exclusive HC now comes autographed by me, artists @artofcolmgriffin and @shawn_daley, and the mighty @thearnshowpod himself! That's FOUR free autographs exclusive to this edition of the book through this campaign! Now Round Two: "The Quest for the Gold" has begun! There's 11 days left to unlock these two "golden" book upgrades and the KS Exclusive golden hat pin... so let's do it friends! Get your pledge in today and let's get all the gold! #arnanderson #arncomic #sourcepointpress #dirkmanning #colmgriffin #shawndaley #justinbirch #editordrenajo #fourhorsemen #wcwwrestling #aew #wwe #spinebuster #wrestlingcomics https://www.instagram.com/p/Cly0ZqOPi4Z/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[deziria]

Name: Deziria Ji-Ho (Dez-er-eye-ah, Chi-Ho) Nickname: Dezi / Dez  FACECLAIM: Park Hye-min Job - AEW Head Makeup Artist / MUA for Personal Booking Birth Place: Seoul, South Korea Residence: Orlando FL & Los Angeles. (Condos owned) Age: August 14th, 1996 (26) Languages: Korean (Native First Language), Japanese (2nd Elective), English (Third).

Hi guys, Ky here bringing my OC I’ve worked really hard on, back. ;-; Please absolutely DM me here or on Discord for any plotting ideas you might have. I would love to get any possible connections as I’ve always found OC’s the hardest to keep. 

Below is a list of possible Plot Ideas and Dezi’s backstory.

Open connection ideas/plot ideas:

Roommates. One or more people move in to either one or both of Dezi’s condos.

Best Friend group. A small group of friends that can sit on a couch eating takeout and binging shows, helping scratch off Deziria’s bucket list of new experiences to try.

Exes. #1 idea. Dezi decided to introduce you to her parents after dating for a decent amount of time. Her parents did NOT approve and threatened to pull her family bank accounts if she did not end things. 

Exes. #2 idea. Dezi walked in on her ex cheating after returning to her condo unexpectedly. It forces her to have major trust issues going forward.

MUA connection. Although Dez works for AEW as a Makeup Artist, she also accepts freelance work. This can be a connection for her to be 1x1 with anyone from any other company.

Any other Plot anyone can think of!!

Backstory:

Family - Ji-ho

Brother - Korain Ji-ho

Deziria grew up in the largely populated city of Seoul, alongside her older brother and well respected parents. Growing up, Dezi began learning English through watching Americanized television, picking up the language and quickly becoming infatuated with the culture. Her family moved on to own a well upper-class hotel chain throughout their country, with her parents leaving both Dez and her elder brother with live-in Nanny’s. 

As Korain became of age, he quickly joined the rankings with the family business, leaving Dezi to her own quest. Continuing on with her love for American culture, she soon began to fall into the beauty of makeup that came with the style so far overseas.

Once becoming of age herself, of course she was expected to join her family. Giving it her absolute best shot, Dez spent her first year becoming what would seem like a English translator for her parents. Without her parents knowledge, Deziria began taking beauty courses, finding her style between a mix of American and Korean looks, perfecting her craft while also keeping it hidden. 

Reaching the age of 21, the young woman knew she didn’t want to continue the charade. She soon came clean to her parents whom of course were not a fan of the idea of her career venture. However after many long lasting conversations, her Father understood the want she had, as he had for the start up of the family business. With her brother taking on her own work load, Dezi was given her parents blessing to venture to the United States to pursue her career.

Adjusting to life away from her Native country by herself was absolutely terrifying. Thankfully she did have contacts to help her getting her first clients, to begin her self-employed makeup artist gig. Over the next 3 years, her brand grew, gaining more following than she ever had before. Finding her expertise in stunning, yet also intense looks, booking work with fashion shows, indie wrestling events & photoshoots. 

Of course Deziria wasn’t in the makeup industry for the money potential it had. She had come from a now well-off funded family. The art itself that she was able to bring to life was what continued to get her out of bed each morning. At the age of 25, with her portfolio filled with a wide variety of looks, Ji-ho received a call from none other than Tony Khan himself. Having had gained the liking of many Wrestler’s she had worked on previously, one had remembered her enough to throw her name in the pool of possible Makeup Artists to sign. Working out a trial run with Tony, Dezi floored the higher ups with her work for 3 different dated shows. Accepting her contract, the young woman soon moved up in her rankings with the other signed artists. With one door closing for some, hers stayed open as she moved into the Lead Makeup Artist role. 

With her happiness held far out in front of her, Dezi continues to not only fall in love with the Wrestling atmosphere, but the amazing people around her. Now 26, of course keeping with her career aspirations, her parents keep their hope held high for her to marry a Korean man. Deep down, Deziria knows that her interests may lay elsewhere, whether that be gender or ethnicity, but that’s something she is only beginning to unravel herself.

Secret:

Deziria is of course new to the Wrestling world. Prior to working Wrestling shows, she had actually believed nothing had been scripted. Watching it live still makes her jump at each risky move in the ring. She is a very bubbly person, a light speaker per say, however when around any type of dominant-forward person, she is quiet always. Her father was a very loud, angry person when it came to things Now being across the world from her family, she continues to avoid those that send her emotions to the surface the same we her father had. Dezi is constantly scared that the next person she begins to date, no matter whom it is, that her parents will ultimately disown her from the family, no matter how much she shows she loves her new interest. For that, she’s skeptical of dating long term. 

[officialotakudome]

New Post has been published on Otaku Dome | The Latest News In Anime, Manga, Gaming, Tech, and Geek Culture

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AEW Rampage Was a Rare Pro Wrestling Surprise

AEW made it’s formal conception on January 1, 2019 and has since been making a number of accomplishments since. Including sold out shows, record merch sales, signing major stars, and  breaking one million viewers semi-regularly just to name a few. As we come to closing out the year AEW is looking to continue the highs they’ve been receiving in 2021 with the debut of their second televised program AEW Rampage. An hour series that will act as an equal to it’s sister program AEW Dynamite. And with the show they put on for night one that promise has so far already been kept.

AEW Rampage is a 2021 pro wrestling series produced by AEW & WarnerMedia. It currently airs Fridays at 9:00 AM Central on TNT. 

Editor’s Note: Spoilers for the debut episode of AEW Rampage and potential spoilers for the second episode may be present within this review.

AEW Rampage opened with an amazing match and a shock finish.

Kenny Omega (c) vs Christian Cage for the Impact World Championship:

In the opening (and first ever) contest of AEW Rampage, AEW featured a historic moment in which the Impact World Championship was defended for the very first time on another national wrestling promotion’s television program. AEW, Impact, and AAA World Champion Kenny Omega defended against challenger Christian Cage in a bit of a preview to their upcoming All Out main event match for the AEW World Championship. First just wanted to point out that the Pittsburg crowd was HOT for this show from start to finish. It really goes to show that if you give your audience a bit of respect they often respond in kind. Which is a polar opposite to a lot of WWE crowds who often attack the shows with obnoxious chants such as “What!?” & “CM PUNK!”. But WWE often shows little respect to their audience so it can be a bit forgiven.

Omega and Cage are both rather high level in-ring performers, especially the latter at age 47. AEW typically has their best matches open and close their shows and this philosophy continued on the debut of Rampage. Most of the offense surprisingly came from Christian who was really showing out against Omega who was mainly selling everything. At one point in the match Christian hit Omega with a Spear and had a cool near fall. Finish saw the Young Bucks coming out while Don distracted a ref and they handed Kenny a chair. As Omega was preparing for the One-Winged Angel, Christian turned the tides with a Killswitch on the very chair Omega had prepared for a three count. Omega sold the Killswitch like he was shot and Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus join Cage for the post-match celebration.

Winner AND NEW Impact World Champion Christian Cage: **** 1/2 stars

Beloved jobber Fuego del Sol gained a life changing victory in defeat.

Following the commercial break with get Mark Henry interviewing Cage with Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus having A Little Bit of the Bubbly. Cage said Kenny caused him to bring everything he had and felt he wasn’t going to win. He then states that if he gave him so much trouble for the Impact title it’ll be next to impossible for him to win the AEW title, but the victory has Cage in Omega’s head. Next match is God’s Favorite Champion Miro taking on everybody’s favorite jobber Fuego del Sol for the TNT Championship. If Sol wins he’ll be signed to an AEW contract.

Fuego del Sol vs Miro (c) for the TNT Championship:

If you’re even remotely apart of AEW’s social media circles you’ve probably heard of the rise of Fuego del Sol fka Kage. Sol began wrestling in a trampoline fed on Youtube prior to pursing his dreams on the independent circuit. Fuego; real life best friend of rising AEW star Sammy Guevara found his way to the promotion through recommendation working AEW Dark during their stay at Daily’s Place during the pandemic. Fuego also had a starring role in Guevara’s vlog entitled “Sammy’s Vlog” in which he films & documents his & his friends & co-workers’ real lives and careers as a professional wrestlers. Fuego became a fan-favorite due to his likable personality and optimism. AEW took notice of Fuego’s skyrocketing popularity and often had him featured on Dark and occasionally on flagship series Dynamite. The running gag of Sammy’s Vlog was Fuego’s real-life quest for a contract despite his losing streak and the fact that he also worked at Burger King to support his family while on PPA (pay per appearances) bookings with AEW.

Sammy stated many times that the goal of his vlog was to help his friends and guests to establish a gimmick, place to explore personality, and an opportunity to reach an audience basically to help wrestlers get over. And it’s kind of poetic that Fuego is one of the first to truly accomplish those goals. Fuego is now a hit on social media with many of his tweets gaining five digit numbers in likes something that’s rather unheard of from someone who’s had no real presence in the WWE. Now that we’ve gotten to the background of Fuego and the importance of this storyline (apologies for being so long winded about it) we can move on to the match itself. 

This was more or less a squash match, but the point was to get Fuego over in front of a big crowd. As the match began Fuego showed his bravery by hitting Miro with a variation of the Tornado DDT his finishing move of which he is the master. Fuego goes for a pin but only got a one count, he follows up with a second Tornado DDT as the crowd goes ballistic in cheers and Miro wisely rolls out of the ring. Commentary reminds people at home that if Fuego wins via count out he may not win the title but he will in fact still win the AEW contract. Miro unfortunately gets back into the ring at nine only to be hit with THIRD Tornado DDT at this stage the crowd is all over Fuego. He goes for a pin, but gets a very close near fall. As Miro recovers he nails Fuego with the Bulgarian Drop & Thrust Kick followed by the Game Over submission for the win.

Winner and still AEW TNT Champion Miro: *** stars

AEW Women’s World Champion returned to Brittsburg in the main event.

Miro celebrates and rips the contract as we head to commercial. Returning from the break Fuego recovers from his heartbreaking loss as the Pittsburg crowd gives him a standing ovation for his efforts. Commentary is selling the idea that this is Fuego’s final official appearance in AEW as they’re back on a touring schedule. Suddenly, Sammy Guevara’s music hits and he appears (briefly) with Tony Khan who hands him a mic and clipboard. Sammy tells Fuego that despite losing he may have still won. Reminding him of his disappointing win-loss record, he tells him it doesn’t matter as the fans and the wrestlers in the back all love him. Realizing what’s about to go down Fuego starts ugly crying as Sammy tells Fuego that Tony Khan wanted himself as his best friend to inform him that as of tonight he is officially All Elite and the crowd goes nuts. In an interview with Sports Illustrated Tony Khan stated that this was 100% shoot and that only Sammy knew Fuego was getting signed regardless of his loss. If you’ve followed Fuego’s journey from the beginning or middle where he made his AEW it really shows that anyone can get themselves over if they work hard enough and have the right platform. Contrastingly, in WWE if you get over without being their chosen guy or gal you’re punished for it being viewed as “having gone into business for yourself”. A testament to this is the infamous rise of Matt Cardona fka Zach Ryder who rose to fame with his “Z! True Long Island Story” Youtube series and had a fundamental role in teaching pro wrestlers to use the internet and social media to work for themselves to get over and would go on to inspire shows such as BTE (Being the Elite) & Sammy’s Vlog.

Cardona would regularly embarrassed and buried on WWE TV after a pity run with the WWE United States Championship rarely finding success beyond point for the remainder of his run in the promotion. Reports stated that morale among talent hit a record low, Cardona’s best friend Impact Wrestling star Brian Myers was also quoted as saying WWE “would hold “brass ring” pep talks every WrestleMania that suddenly stopped once Cardona got over”. So in short, unless you’re their flavor of the week/month/year WWE won’t take it kindly if you work hard and gain a following without their say. Whereas AEW (and virtually every other promotion ever) will do the compete opposite and show support, but enough of the rant it’s time for the main event.

Red Velvet vs Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D for the AEW Women’s World Championship:

Fuego wasn’t the only new signee of the night.

As the match starts Velvet is understandingly thrown off by the boos. More confusingly Velvet is working as a babyface for much of the match, rectifies this when she begins working Britt’s wrist. Obviously, Britt is the heel, but for the sake if the circumstances I’m glad Velvet played into being the baddie for the night. Also can I just say how crazy it’s been seeing Red Velvet grow as an in ring performer? I’ve seen her since her debut on Dark and basically followed through since her debut on Dynamite with Cody against Jade Cargill and Shaq. She’s still fairly fresh and young as a worker, but has really shown off her potential especially here. Lots of back and forth offense from Britt and Red. The finish saw Britt attempting the Lockjaw with the hurt wrist, but once Velvet escapes she brilliantly reverses it with her opposite arm for the submission. 

Winner and still AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker: **** stars

While Britt celebrates she beats down Velvet who comes back only to be beat down again by the returning Jamie Hayter with a new look. Hayter had a bit run on AEW Dark & NXT UK prior to her return as a full-time AEW talent. Britt had been hinting that she was opening up a bodyguard position and Hayter will fit that role moving forward. AEW Rampage’s debut was an extremely strong show with fantastic matches and excellent storytelling. This Friday is surprisingly going to be even more important, as unless you’ve been living under a rock “The First Dance” in the United Center will be the host of the long-awaited return of CM Punk to pro wrestling and not as an analyst as an in-ring talent. AEW and Punk himself are barely trying to throw fans off of what is undoubtedly going to be a legendary moment for them in their short time alive. 2021 has been very good to AEW and pro wrestling as a whole and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. AEW gives AEW Rampage’s debut episode an 80 out of 100.

[minacoleta]

Crew of the Stroke Daddy

[laknight]

This isn’t three but the elite

okay since you sent me the bucks and kenneth separately i’ll do cody, hangman, and marty (does marty count? who knows idc tho i'll include him)

tag: okay so i would tag with hangman for sure bc lately his friends are being mean to him and that is wrong! so i will support him and i will help him beat up his friends bc they’re being bitches to him and yeah. hangman deserves the whole world and i love him and i want to support him always

manage: i would probably mange cody just so i could try to talk him out of doing dumb and dangerous things bc lately he’s just been going wild. i also want to support him on his quest to murder mjf bc it’s what he deserves 

feud: i would feud with marty bc even tho i love him more than anything he hurt my feelings when he didn't go to aew and i’m bitter about it

[beingallelite]

On Saturday, August 31, 2019, All Elite Wrestling presented the historic ALL OUT pay-per-view event from the sold out Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The play-by-play broadcast team for the main card was Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Goldenboy.

The preshow BUY IN opened with a Casino Battle Royale, with the winner competing for the AEW Women’s title on October 2 in Washington, DC, at the Capital One Arena (being televised on on TNT). There were 21 competitors vying for a shot at that title, including: Leva Bates, Faby Apache, Nyla Rose, Shelondra, Priscilla Kelly, Penelope Ford, Shazza McKenzie, Sadie Gibbs, Dr. Britt Baker, Big Swole, Brandi Rhodes, Awesome Kong, Bea Priestly, Tenille Dashwood, Ivelisse, Allie, Nicole Savoy, Teal Piper, Jazz, ODB, and Mercedes Martinez. The final two wrestlers in the match were Nyla Rose and Dr. Britt Baker. With some interference from Bea Priestly, Rose eliminated Baker.

Your winner: Nyla Rose

Showing off the depth of the tag team division, Private Party (Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy) faced the party crashing team of Jack Evans and Angelico. There were plenty of innovative tag team maneuverers here, with Jack Evans in particular putting on a clinic. All parties must come to an end eventually, and after their dynamic finisher, Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy showed their opponents why no one throws a party quite like them.

Your winners: Private Party

The opener for ALL OUT saw SCU (Christopher Daniels, Scorpio Sky, and Frankie Kazarian) step back into time to face the Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) and Marko Stunt. SoCal Uncensored have decades and decades of tag team knowledge under their belts, and despite showing lots of youthful fire, Jungle Boy got lost in the proverbial weeds once SCU hit the Best Meltzer Ever on him.

Your winners: SoCal Uncensored

Originally scheduled as Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley, “the Bastard” Pac would step up to Omega on short notice to replace Moxley (who was out of action with MRSA). This was a dream match for pro wrestling fans, with two of the greatest of their era, Omega and Pac stepping into the ring to face off for the first time ever. This is a match that can only be made in AEW, and it was loaded with intriguing and breathtaking physicality. Omega and Pac are perfect opponents for one another, with each being very well versed in each other’s playbooks. Tonight, Pac pulled out the victory, seemingly out of nowhere when Omega passed out after Pac locked on the Brutalizer submission.

Your winner: Pac

The Cracker Barrel Clash served up the buffet of brutality that fans might expect from a three-way match involving Joey Janela, Darby Allin and Jimmy Havoc. This match was violent and a blast to watch (but certainly quite painful for the participants, with their devil-may-care attitudes). Plunder in this match included a skateboard loaded with thumbtacks, actual barrels from Cracker Barrel, a tray of delicious Cracker Barrel biscuits, and a staple gun. These athletes were relentless, with a total disregard for their own wellbeing to earn the victory. Havoc eventually nailed a Rainmaker on Janela through a barrel, and the meal of mayhem was over.

Your winner: Jimmy Havoc

In a match with the winner receiving a first round bye in AEW Tag Team Title tournament (coming up on TNT this fall), the Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) battled the Best Friends (Chuck Taylor, and Sue’s favorite son, Trent). The Dark Order had their small army of minions with them, and eventually, being outnumbered would take its toll on the Best Friends. The Dark Order hit the Fatality finisher on Chuck Taylor to end the match and earn the first round bye. To help even up the odds, Orange Cassidy, the “freshly squeezed” friend of Chuckie T. and Trent, made a surprise run-in, hitting a tope suicida on the Dark Order.

Your winners: The Dark Order

Joshi enthusiasts were treated next to Riho wrestling Hikaru Shida, with the winner of this match scheduled to face Nyla Rose for the AEW Women’s Championship during AEW’s TV debut on TNT on October 2nd. Riho and Shida traded moves and counters. It was an evenly matched contest with plenty of back and forth offense,  and they had the fans in the palms of their hands. Ultimately, Riho would score the pin on Shida after applying head scissors.

Your winner: Riho

Perhaps the most personal bout on the ALL OUT card was next, with Cody (joined by MJF in his corner), taking on former friend Shawn Spears (with Tully Blanchard serving as his advisor). The Nightmare Family (Brandi Rhodes, Diamond Dallas Page, MJF, and Pharaoh the dog) accompanied Cody down the ramp, making a spectacular entrance. Cody’s gear was fashioned after the mirror universe Captain Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and it was apropos, because Cody showed he was the captain of this ship by the end of this turbulent voyage. With Blanchard’s aid, Spears whipped Cody with a belt. MJF got involved and tried to neutralize the legendary Tully Blanchard, but Spears got to the preoccupied MJF, leaving Cody to fend for himself. A familiar face joined the fracas, with Arn Anderson making a surprise run-in to deliver his trademarked spinebuster. With the shift in momentum, Cody hit the CrossRhodes on Spears for the victory.

Your winner: Cody

The Escalera de la Muerte ladder match for the AAA Tag Team Championship was on deck next, with Fenix and Pentagon, the Lucha Bros., facing Matt and Nick Jackson, the Young Bucks, to put an exclamation point at the end of this feud. These two brilliant tag teams have been battling all year in a storied rivalry. This match was every bit as breathtaking as you might expect from two of the all time best teams in the sport of pro wrestling. It truly defied the laws of physics, and no amount of words will be able to do justice to the daredevil antics put on display. As noted by Excalibur, this was the sixth match between these teams in 2019. If you want to see how far the art of tag team wrestling has evolved, this match is cutting edge and one that will be remembered by fans of the sport for many years to come. Really, this match could have gone either way, as the balance of who had the edge between the Bucks and the Lucha Bros. often shifted in less than a nanosecond. After executing their Zero Fear finisher, Fenix and Pentagon would pull off the victory. Post match, two masked men made their presence felt, revealing themselves as Ortiz and Santana.

Your winners: The Lucha Bros.

The main event of the night was a match between Chris Jericho and Hangman Adam Page, and the victor would be crowned the first AEW World Champion. Page made an entrance riding a horse, which was a sight to behold. Page’s family was in attendance, but Chris Jericho didn’t see anything personal about this; to him it was strictly business, and he believes the success of AEW as a business is a direct result of his involvement with the company. Jericho wanted the belt so he could get the thank you from AEW brass and EVPs that he feels he deserves. Page showed a ton of heart and fire, but Jericho seemed unstoppable on his quest. The crowd, at times, was split, a sure sign of respect for both combatants, and it added to the big fight atmosphere and energy of this historic bout. There’s no arguing with Jericho’s Judas Effect back elbow, which rocked Page out of nowhere.

Your winner and the first AEW World Champion: Chris Jericho.

Visit AEWonBRLIVE.com to order the replay!

[junker-town]

AEW’s botched ‘explosion’ was a symptom of bigger problems

This will live in wrestling infamy for decades.

A battered, bloody Jon Moxley struggled in the ring, his hands cuffed behind his back. Air raid sirens blared as horrified announcers believed they were about to witness a man’s death. Then aid came from an unlikely source with 20 seconds remaining on a giant doomsday clock. Eddie Kingston, Moxley’s lifelong friend turned bitter enemy, rushed to the ring in an attempt to save his friend from a ring rigged with explosives and set to detonate. Knowing he couldn’t rescue Moxley in time he threw himself on top of Moxley, ready to accept his fate. The clock hit zero. This was it. Four limp fireworks that looked like sparklers sputtered from the ring posts, followed by some smoke and denotations that sounded like weak firecrackers.

The conclusion of AEW Revolution was unquestionably one of the funniest things to happen in professional wrestling history, and it was completely unintentional.

I expected bigger booms? pic.twitter.com/yApENMwoVm

— SkullsMedia.com (@SkullsMedia) March 8, 2021

There is no way this is what AEW planned for. It’s clear something went wrong with the pyro, leaving us with this weak, hilarious ending to the most hyped wrestling pay per view of the year. What was supposed to be a poignant and dramatic close to the story, one that would write Moxley off TV while he took paternity leave and set up questions about the future of Eddie Kingston instead left both men, the announce team, and everyone involved looking like fools.

AEW is trying to steer into the skid. After the show went off the air Moxley took the microphone and told the Jacksonville crowd that “Kenny Omega may be one tough son of a bitch, but he can’t make an exploding ring worth a shit.” The idea is that the AEW World Champion, who has been increasingly becoming like Wile E. Coyote in his quest to destroy Moxley, messed it all up, and the hilarious botch at the end of the show was somehow intentional. A valiant effort to turn the moment into comedy, but not enough considering the preceding show, which had incredible in-ring action got utterly overshadowed by impossible expectations AEW set and knew they couldn’t live up to.

Aside from the ludicrous “exploding barbed wire death match” main event to Revolution, the biggest selling point, the reason so many people decided to tune in, was a hugely-hyped new signing announcement we were told was a “hall of fame worthy talent,” sending expectations through the moon. Could Brock Lesnar jump ship to AEW? Would this mark the return of CM Punk to professional wrestling? Was this the moment a New Japan Pro Wrestling star would jump over to U.S. television with Kazuchika Okada, or Kota Ibushi debuting? No, it was Christian Cage.

Christian Cage HAS ARRIVED! Order #AEWRevolution now on all major providers, @brlive, and @FiteTV (international fans) pic.twitter.com/1KgXHLHtxR

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 8, 2021

Technically Christian checks all the boxes. He’s unquestionably a big name, he’s definitely “hall of fame worthy,” but the problem is the unevenness of AEW’s announcements, and their pacing. The last huge signing the company made was poaching Paul Wight (aka “The Big Show”) from WWE, casually announcing it on Twitter on a sleepy Wednesday afternoon when nobody was expecting it. When you make that kind of move quietly, the expectation is through the moon when you hype a major signing for five days before a pay per view. Expectations of Lesnar or Punk may be unrealistic, but they were warranted in contrast to how casual AEW was with Wight.

Cage arriving to almost no fanfare, then leaving without saying a word just put a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Then the botched “explosion” closing the show left the whole night feeling disappointing and sad, when it shouldn’t have been.

The biggest shame is that those two moments were so awful that they overshadowed what was otherwise a pretty stellar show. The Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho and MJF was a masterclass is tag team wrestling when on paper it should have been mediocre. The tag team battle royale was sloppy, but exceedingly fun — especially in the close. The title match between Hikaru Shida and Ryo Mizunami was one of the best women’s matches AEW has put on PPV. Even the extremely hyped street fight that saw Sting return to the ring was brilliant, with swooping camera work and innovation that took the cinematic match to a new level.

Revolution won’t be remembered for any of that. The matches will fade into history and the indelible mark left by a show with so much promise will be a hilariously bad explosion that was the worst possible thing to happen at the worst possible time, an a lukewarm signing people predicted as their “worst case scenario.” There’s a lesson here that AEW has to learn about building and managing expectations. This isn’t the first time owner Tony Khan has over promised and under delivered on a big moment, and unless they do more to temper expectations it will turn people away from AEW. That’s how significant and terrible Sunday night was.

[wrestlingisfake]

Resurgence preview

It's been a year now since New Japan launched their US-based show, NJPW Strong. I'm sure the original plans involved running US tours with a mix of American regulars and visiting stars from the main Japanese roster. The pandemic, however, limited the scope of Strong, mainly featuring minor leagues on a closed set. It almost felt like a parallel universe with little relationship to the "real" NJPW. Now, finally, the brand gets to do a show in front of an actual crowd, and we get to see this concept the way it was meant to be seen.

The show airs live on NJPWworld (999 yen for one month--about $9.12 US) at 11pm EDT. Or, if you just cannot handle setting up your payment on a Japanese website, you can get the show on FITE.tv for $19.99 US. Both services should make the show available on-demand later, in case you want to wait until you're done watching Triplemania.

Lance Archer vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Archer is defending the IWGP United States champioship. The title was in limbo through most of 2020, as Jon Moxley was unable to schedule a defense in either New Japan or AEW. That changed in 2021, as thawing relations between the two promotions led to more Moxley title matches, until he lost the belt to Archer on July 21. Shortly before Archer's first defense on July 28, AEW aired a video of Tanahashi challenging the winner of that match.

This is Tana's first show outside of Japan since the pandemic began, and his first match in California in nearly three years. I'm not sure anyone expected him to be here, given that the New Japan of America operation has focused on building up North American talent rather than bringing in big stars from the home promotion. So this is a special treat for the live audience, above and beyond Archer coming in from AEW.

I expect a pretty straightforward match with Archer killing Tana with big power moves and Tana rallying for a big babyface comeback. In a vacuum I would think either man could end up with the belt. However, the real story to this match is that Tanahashi went out of his way to make a challenge for the US title, but not until after Jon Moxley lost it. So Moxley has accused Tana of ducking him, and it stands to reason that he'll confront the winner of this match to close the show. That feels like a formula for Tana vs. Mox for the title, maaaybe at the AEW pay-per-view on September 5. Everyone sure seems to hope that's where we're headed, so I don't think a lot of people will be pulling for Archer tonight.

Jay White vs. David Finlay - This is White's first defense of the NEVER openweight championship. It's also his first New Japan match since May, as the quarantine procedures for entering Japan have made travel pretty rough for the non-Japanese talent. As I recall, Finlay received this title shot because he pinned White back in March. Finlay hasn't been back in Japan since that tour. Both of these guys have been in Impact Wrestling as of late.

Originally, the idea behind White winning the NEVER title was to set up a match with Hiroshi Tanahashi at one of the Wrestle Grand Slam stadium shows that New Japan scheduled this summer. The aforementioned travel problems seem to have scuttled that, so now White is facing The Other Guy From FinJuice.

The biggest buzz I've heard surrounding this match is that Finlay appeared on Wrestling Observer Live to promote the show and ended up giving fans the impression that he wanted to go to NXT. I mean, Finlay could be fucking with us on that. But it's not a good sign when people are mainly interested in a match because they're looking for signs that one of the participants is fixing to leave the promotion. Not that it affects the finish, of course--Finlay could sign with NJPW for a million years, and he still wouldn't be booked to beat White for a title in 2021.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Moose - This match kind of came out of nowhere. Ishii isn't exactly a top guy in New Japan but he's always right below that level, clobbering most of the roster and getting clobbered to set up new contenders. Most of the NJPW Strong roster would be underdogs against him. But then, Moose isn't on the Strong roster--he's coming over from Impact, where he's been pushed as a top heel for months. Moose is a 6-foot-5 big mean guy and Ishii is a 5-foot-7 big mean guy, so this should be an interesting contrast. It's easily the most interesting match on the show.

I'd like to see Moose win, since it'd be a slight upset and he could use the momentum for whatever he's doing next. But if he is gonna win, Ishii is going to convince you that he had to work his ass off to earn it. I'm looking forward to this.

Tom Lawlor & JR Kratos & Danny Limelight & Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs vs. Lio Rush & Chris Dickinson & Adrian Quest & Fred Yehi & Yuya Uemura - Lawlor is the NJPW Strong champion and his team is the New Japan version of "Team Filthy." The babyface team originally featured Brody King, but he was pulled from the card at the last minute due to "unforeseen circumstances", so Adrian Quest is substituting for him. That's a real tough break for the good guys.

There are several storylines at play here. Lio Rush stepped up as the next challenger for Lawlor's title, and they'll have that match at the August 16 tapings. Dickinson was kicked out of Team Filthy, and is currently aligned with Brody King's Violence Unlimited stable. Uemura had been working on the Japan roster as a Young Lion, but he's just begun his excursion so he has a chance to really express himself as a performer.

If Rush wasn't already positioned as Lawlor's next challenger, I might think this match could end with someone pinning Lawlor. As it is, though, it probably makes more sense for Team Filthy to win in a dominant fashion. Yehi and Quest are basically undercard scrubs, and Uemura just now graduated to that position. Rush and Dickinson aren't going to be able to carry so many weak links.

Juice Robinson vs. Hikuleo - Juice has spent most of 2021 teaming with David Finlay over on Impact, whereas Hikuleo has been wrestling on Strong and more recently on a few AEW shows. Given that Hikuleo is 6-foot-8 you'd expect him to squash everything in his path, but New Japan isn't afraid to have more established stars get the better of him. Whether Juice is one of those more established stars remains to be seen.

Juice biggest career highlight was winning the IWGP US title, and Hikuleo's was challenging for that title a few weeks ago. If one of them is going to be in the hunt for that belt, then winning this match should be step one. As much as I'd like to see Juice back in the chase, I get the feeling it'll be Hikuleo taking that role.

Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Jon Moxley & X - The Good Brothers (Gallows and Anderson) are the Impact Wrestling men's tag team champions, but their title is not at stake here. I think Moxley was originally booked to team with Syota Umino on this show, but travel restrictions prevented Umino from coming into LA. One way or another, Moxley will have a mystery partner that won't be revealed until the match begins.

The backstory is that Gallows and Anderson have been a thorn in Moxley's side every time he's tried to fight Kenny Omega, or really anybody in Omega's stable. With that in mind, the most logical partner would be Sami Callihan, who has a history with Moxley and unfinished business with Omega's group. People have been asking for a Moxley-Callihan reunion from the minute AEW and Impact started collaborating, and there's no reason it can't happen here. On the other hand, I wonder if that's something New Japan would do as a surprise, as opposed to advertising it ahead of time.

If Moxley's partner isn't Callihan, there's a serious risk that the live crowd will start chanting for Callihan and disrupt the match. So if they're going with someone else, it'd better be good. I suppose Eddie Kingston would be accepted, although again, why would that be something you do as a surprise? Personally, I'm all about Moxley and the cold, deadly eyes of Shooter Umino, so I know I'll be disappointed no matter what. :(

Anyway, it'd be stupid for Moxley's team to lose this match.

Rocky Romero & Fred Rosser & Wheeler Yuta vs. TJP & Clark Connors & Ren Narita - This is a pretty good sampling of the NJPW Strong midcard. Of this group, Romero has the most clout with the main New Japan roster. Rosser is still best known as WWE's Darren Young, the guy from the Nexus who looks exactly like John Cena. Yuta has been making waves on AEW, filling in for Trent Beretta with Orange Cassidy's group, so I guess he and Rocky are both Best Friends Twice Removed or something. TJP is a former WWE cruiserweight champion and Impact X division champion. Connors is one of the guys from the Gekiochi-kun ads--I think he's the one who snaps his fingers to teleport everybody. Ren Narita is the guy who used to wrestle Syota Umino all the time, but Syota is not on this show. :(

Alex Coughlin vs. Karl Fredericks - When Strong started, Coughlin, Fredericks, and Clark Connors were the three Young Lions from the LA Dojo who worked as prelim guys. Since then I believe Connors and Fredericks have "graduated," and Coughlin is still working on it. I'm pretty sure Fredericks is the one in the Gekiochi-kun ads that says "that's pretty cool." I don't remember what Coughlin does in those ads, so clearly he needs to get his ass in gear. Anyway, I guess Fredericks wins.

Bateman & Mysterioso & Barrett Brown vs. The DKC & Kevin Knight & Jordan Clearwater - This is scheduled as a dark match 30 minutes before the live stream begins. I've heard most of these names, but the only one I kinda know is Bateman from whatever goofy stable he's in at Ring of Honor. I dunno, I guess his side wins.

[vulturehound]

Hi, and welcome to SteelChair’s Top 50 Tag Teams of the year. In previous years, we’d given you only the Top 10 teams but tag wrestling has just been so damn good this year, that we had to expand the list by five times (five times, five times, five times, five times). Here, we count down the 50-11 positions, covering the best talent that male and female tag team divisions around the world have to offer. When you’re done here, do check out the Top 10, when it’s live, to see if your favourite made it. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Words by Laura Mauro, Steph Franchomme, Humza Hussain, Tom Mimnagh, Tom Beasley, Joe Raczka, John Dinsdale, Dave Adamson, Bradley Tiernan, Stephen Goodman, and James Truepenny.

From 50 to 26

Click on a pic to open the gallery

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50 – Bea Priestley & Jamie Hayter (STARDOM)

49 – Boys II Men/Crashboat (Pop Punk Kid & Jack Bandicoot) – UK Wrestling

48 – Erick Rowan & Daniel Bryan (WWE)

47 – Cody & Dustin Rhodes (AEW)

46- Diamond Vogue Collective (Jinny & Mercedez Blaze) – EVE

45 – Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) – UK Wrestling

44 – Mei Suruga & Mei Hochizuki (SEAdLINNING)

43- Mercedes Martinez & Cheerleader Melissa (SHIMMER)

42 – Stronghearts (El Lindaman & T-Hawk) OWE/AEW

41 – Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) – NJPW

40 – Yuu & Chihiro Hashimoto (Sendai)

39 – Crazy Lovers (Masashi Takeda & Takumi Tsukamoto) – BJW / Japan Wrestling

38 – The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) – Impact Wrestling

37 – The Young Guns (Luke Jacobs & Ethan Allen) – Futureshock Wrestling

36 – Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori) – NJPW

35 – Birds of Prey (Will Ospreay & Robbie Eagles) – NJPW

34 – The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) – ROH

33- Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) – AEW

32 – The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) – Impact Wrestling

31- The IIconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay) – WWE

30 – Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight) – WWE

29 – More Than Hype (LJ Cleary, Nathan Martin & Darren Kearney) – OTT Wrestling

28 – Club Tropicana (Captain Sexsea & Aidan) – OTT Wrestling

27 – South Wales Subculture (Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster) – NXT UK

26- Tokyo Cyber Squad (Jungle Kyona & Konami) – STARDOM

From 25 to 11

25 – Queen’s Quest (Momo Watanabe & Utami Hayashishita) – STARDOM

One of Stardom’s most dominant stables, Queen’s Quest have been no stranger to championship gold this year. Momo Watanabe and Utami Hayashishita held the Goddess of Stardom Championship until July when they were divested of their gold by Tokyo Cyber Squad. But fear not! With the help of stablemate AZM, Queen’s Quest went on to claim the Artist of Stardom Championship.

24 – The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) – WWE – Were #3 last year

The New Day’s inclusion in the list of best tag teams may partly be due to their tenure, but despite Kofi’s singles run taking up most of New Day’s time in 2019, when called upon, they have continued to deliver in the WWE tag team scene. A perfect example being their great PPV outing with The Revival at Clash of Champions.

23 – Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) – WWE

The booking of the Viking Raiders has been questionable, and that dates back to their debut under the name ‘The Viking Experience’. But since consistently performing on Monday nights, Erik and Ivar have won over the crowd with their unique and breathtaking style (nicknamed “305 Live”), and this was clear for all to see in their fantastic title victory on RAW.

22 – Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) – NXT UK

Zack Gibson has always been one of the best antagonists on the microphone and NXT UK has rewarded the fans in spades! James Drake is a consistently strong performer and has become the perfect wingman to Gibson. Intense in-ring ability, a naturally dislikeable temperament and supreme confidence, Grizzled Young Vets have come to define NXT UK’s tag team division.

21- Woke Queens ( Debbie Keitel & Valkyrie) – EVE

You have to love Debbie Keitel and Valkyrie. Ireland’s enormously entertaining Woke Queens have only been operating as a dedicated duo since the beginning of the year, but they’ve made quite an impression already. Making their Pro Wrestling: EVE debut in June, the popular coffee-chugging, ABBA-loving pair fought off stiff competition to become the second-ever EVE Tag Team Champions.

20 – Santana & Ortiz (Impact Wrestling/AEW)

What is there to say about Santana and Ortiz? The former LAX have done it all in Impact Wrestling. They dominated Impact as a top draw and held the tag titles in several high-class feuds. Now they have branched out into AEW as Proud N Powerful and look set to do it all again going straight for the Young Bucks.

19 – Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) – WWE

It has been a hell of a year for this high-energy duo, who won gold for the first time on the developmental brand before making the step up to the main roster. After several weeks as an enjoyable Greek Chorus on Monday Night RAW, Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins have finally got in the ring, where they’re tearing it up.

18 – Anti-Fun Police (Chief Deputy Dunne & Los Federales Santos Jr) – UK Wrestling

Chief Deputy Damien Dunne, Los Federales Santos Jr, James & Leigh Obstruction (aka The Hunter Brothers, a team who could top this list on their own) and Cadet Joe Nelson have upheld the law in 2019 making sure there’s been no fun (aah) while easily stealing shows up and down the UK and Ireland. But never having fun, no fun, nada.

17 – Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) – WWE

The formation of the Kabuki Warriors was rough at best but now they look set to be a dominant force in the Women’s Tag Division. A vicious streak and ignorance of the rules have made them a threat to any woman on any show. They have rid themselves of Paige and are carving their own path of carnage through RAW.

16 – Villain Enterprises (PCO & Brody King)

This somewhat unlikely pairing has become one of the hottest teams in the US Indy scene. Winners of the ROH tag titles, the returning Crockett Cup and the NWA tag titles, Brody King and PCO have gone from strength to strength. And that doesn’t even take into account their success as the ROH 6-man champs along with Marty Scurll.

15 –  Reiwa Ultima Powers (DASH Chisako & Hiroyo Matsumoto)

DASH and Matsumoto are a true force of nature. Between them, Mika Iwata & Chihiro Hashimoto and Medusa Complex, 2019 has seen a resurgence in Sendai Girls’ tag division. The capper to this has been Reiwa Ultimate Powers claiming those Sendai Tag-Team titles. A fitting reward for a team that has pushed the art of tag wrestling like few others.

14 – The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson) – WWE

The Top Guys were NXT darlings. They had promo skills, a classic style and the ability to put on excellent matches. Now they can finally do that on the main roster too as they were trusted with Tag Titles and some proper usage. They aren’t quite the joke they had been and should continue to be pushed as top guys.

13 – Best Friends (Chuckie T & Trent?) – AEW

Best Friends, Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor (and sometimes Orange Cassidy), have a friendship so powerful it has encapsulated the love of many AEW fans. Their patented hug alone is a force strong enough to make any hard cam zoom backwards. Whilst they were unable to progress in AEW’s tag team tournament, they have captured many hearts this year.

12 – Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt) – AEW

Take Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, and add Marko Stunt to the equation. It’s divided some AEW fans, yet it works! The wise guardian Luchasaurus is an impressive combination of hard-hitting and high-flying, Jungle Boy with a marketable look and talent to match and Marko Stunt as the annoyingly talented little guy who everyone remembers. Wrestling fans, get on board the Jurassic Express.

11- Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) – NJPW

That Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa perennial IWGP champions and contenders had another banner year. They took the IWGP titles in February and moved on to the ROH/IWGP title match at MSG as double champions. While that may have been an artistic disaster, they’ve been power players ever since. World Tag League will define their 2020.

All pics courtesy of WWE, NJPW, OTT, ICW, Beyond Gorilla, Sendai Pro Wrestling, Stardom, SHIMMER, ROH, NWA, AEW, Grapple Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, EVE, SEAdLINNING, OWE, Machida Pro-Wrestling Festival, Laura Mauro, and Oli Sandler

SteelChair Magazine's Top 50 Tag Teams of The Year 2019 - Part 1