#that's how mjf realizes that he needs to destroy it

[comediakaidanovsky]

okay so we all know the “the belt corrupts” theories but have y’all considered that maybe it’s the scarf? mjf isn’t like that, he’s just been exposed to the scarf’s influence for so long that it’s poisoned his mind completely. punk stole the scarf and kept it for like a week, and then his entire life spiraled out of control. even now he hears it whisper to him at night and freaks out and posts shit on insta stories. if mjf wants to break the curse he needs to realize that the scarf doesn’t love him and destroy it. scarf versus career match. all in london main event. total bloodbath

[cassidystarks]

Rookie Moves (MJF x Reader)

This was requested by @okadaizoirl, sorry this took so long to post haha, but it's finally here! I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: degradation, humiliation, shower sex

Word Count:

10. "looks like we'll be trapped for a while"

20. "touch them again and I'll kill you"

23. "did you hear all of that?"

As a rookie in the wrestling industry, I have been mostly just a jobber my whole career, but after finding myself signing up to join AEW, life has been getting better and better. Everyone has been so kind to me, well, most of them. There is Max, who is pretentious as he is gorgeous. He is the rudest person I have ever met. Though somehow, I can't help but think about him. I push thoughts away all the time with ease, but he just seems to stay on my mind more than I'd like.

Though when Tony Khan called me into his office and told me I would be having a match with him tonight my heart sunk into my chest. I did not want to wrestle that dickhead, but at the same time if I pin him it would absolutely destroy him.

The time came for the match, which was set in the middle of Dynamite. The first two matches were completed and my walk-out music was about to start playing. I have only had a couple matches on Dark, but I am happy to have any matches. I walk out and do my entrance before stepping into the ring. Doing some last-minute stretches I could hear his godawful walk-out song playing and he walks out as self-entitled as ever.

The match lasts for about ten minutes. There is tension, and we both can tell. I manage to roll him up and pin him. I smile big as the referee raises my hand. Max looks as shocked as I feel and I roll out of the ring and make my way up the ramp. I flip him off before going to the backstage area and going to get some water from my dressing room. I tidy up a bit and take a little break before getting ready for a shower.

But of course, I don't have a towel.

I walk out of my room and go down to my friend Anna Jay's dressing room and knock on the door. She comes out and greets me with a hug.

"Hey! I see you won the match, how are you? And how is Max taking it?" She asked.

"I'm good, I have no idea how Max is, he seemed pretty pissed off when he realized I had won. But I mean oh well, what he gets to be honest but anyways, can I borrow a towel? I don't have any in my dressing room." I asked.

"Of course, I got you covered." She said walking back in and grabbing a towel. She comes back out and hands it to me.

"Thank you, you are a whole lifesaver," I said.

I head back to my dressing room before getting stopped by one of the staff members.

"Hey, great match."

"Thank you," I say, giving them a friendly smile.

"How about I take you out for a drink or two?" They said, leaning up against the wall.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to pass," I say politely declining the offer.

"Oh come on, just one drink. It'll be fun." They persist.

"I said no," I say.

"Listen, all you have to do is have one drink with me, it's not that fucking hard." They said trying to grab at my wrist.

"Touch them again and I'll kill you," said someone with a familiar voice.

I look behind me and see Max. He seems even more pissed than before, and I can't tell if it's because of this or the match. I suspect both.

"Look dude, I don't want any trouble."

"Clearly you do, they said no. Respect that."

"Don't you hate them?"

"Did I ever say that? No. The only one who can touch them is me."

I widen my eyes.

"Excuse me? No one can touch me." I say replying to him.

Max gets the guy to leave. And it's just the two of us.

"You could say thank you," he says.

"I didn't need your help," I say rolling my eyes.

He smiles and nods. He's about to leave and my mouth moves before my mind could tell it to.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Why did you do it? I thought you hated me." I said, not looking at him.

"Did I ever say that?"

"No, but you always act like it. I mean the last few weeks, the frustration between us. Explain that then."

"I don't hate you. In fact, I'm pretty fond of you. But we are at different points in our life, I need to get over this feeling, but I can't."

I make my way into the shower after a conversation with Max. To think he is feeling exactly what I am feeling. I get in and turn the water on warm. I bask in the warmth of the water hitting all the right places. I hear a knock on my bathroom door.

"Who is it?" I yell, getting my hair wet.

"Me."

"Max?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah."

"Sorry, I'm kinda preoccupied," I say, starting to lather the shampoo in my hair.

"Come on, I gotta use the bathroom." He said.

I roll my eyes. It is always something with this man.

"Fine, the door is unlocked."

I hear the door open and close behind me. I get finished washing my hair a few minutes later. His presence lingers, so I know he isn't gone.

"Can you hand me my loofah? It's sitting on the sink." I ask.

I look and see his hand extend in the shower with my loofah in his hand.

"Thank you," I say grabbing it, and seeing his hand leave.

I hear the toilet flush and all I can think is 'shit.'

"MAX!" I say turning off the water.

"My bad," he said.

I grab my towel and wrap it around me, stepping out. I was almost done, but clearly, I'm gonna have to get back in when the water cools. I reach for the handle to grab some of my other skincare. I go to open the door. It won't open.

'Oh, come on," I think, giggling at the door handle to try and make it open.

"looks like we'll be trapped for a while," he said, unamused.

"Great," I said rolling my eyes.

I could feel him staring at me. I look over as he pulls me into his kiss. His kiss was soft and passionate. I gave in and kissed back.

What felt like ages, were only seconds. Soon enough his clothes were on the floor and my towel was thrown off my body. He grabs me by the hips and pulls me close. Leaving kisses on my jawline and down to my neck. One hand rested on my thigh, and the other on my waist.

"You want my dick, you dirty slut." He said, slapping my upper thigh.

There was pure bliss flowing off the steam and the rough kisses he was planting on my body.

He pulls me up on the top counter and slid into me slowly. I throw my head back, running my fingers through his hair. His hand runs up to my cheek and pulls me to face him. His eyes told everything. He wanted it just as much as I did.

He went faster and faster as his lips crashed into mine. I felt my climax come slowly, and then all at once.

"Fuck Max!" I yelled, letting my body go limp against his skin.

"For my enemy, you sure take me well."

"For my enemy, you sure do it good."

Sorry if this isn't very well! And also again would just like to apologize for the lack of posting, and how long it took to put this out!

[archbishop-of-maxlow]

Maxlow Moment of the Week

When I didn't see MJF at the beginning, my heart skipped a beat. I knew he would show up, so at first I thought it was part of a plan. But the more I rewatched, the more I started thinking I was wrong. Here's my theory.

MJF didn't want to be there. He wasn't supposed to be there. He was supposed to stay in the back chillin while the boys did the dirty work.

After Blood & Guts, he's been a bit depressed. We've seen him nervous on the ring, always looking over his shoulder for the Inner Circle, as if suffering from PTSD. Which... Is understandable, by now (this feud has been like goddamn Groundhog Day). He did not want to confront Jericho.

Wardlow was gonna shake Jake's hand. The fight that emerged with Shawn wasn't planned.

But when his team needed him...

MJF showed up.

He didn't look triumphant, he didn't look sly. He hadn't planned to be there. He looked like he was in a rush, because he was.

And I could only describe his energy as follows:

GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY BOYFRIEND!

Surprisingly, I think that we are in the presence of character development here. In this feud? Yup. Weird, I know. That's how hard our boys work.

As per Wardlow...

Here is the face of a man that realized his partner did something seriously messed up, and went "Is that what we're doing now?!... OK. Goddamnit":

He might not be glad about it. But he's taken a side. And I believe he made his choice long ago.

I also loved these two little moments here:

It looks like the tables have turned!

c'mon bb, let's go home.

I hope that Max destroys Sammy. I hope that FTR destroy PnP. I hope this storyline ends soon.

Stay strong, everyone.

See you around, you lovely individuals!

(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

[dalekofchaos]

My hopes for WWE & AEW in 2021 and things I hope changes  for WWE and AEW in 2021

Hopes

WWE

Roman Reigns stays dominant and reigns supreme as the Tribal Chief

Keith Lee wins the Royal Rumble,  joins The Hurt Business and brings the WWE Champion to the Hurt Business

Naomi returns and joins The Hurt Business and dethrones Asuka to take home the gold

The Hurt Business DOMINATES Raw

Bianca Belair wins the Royal Rumble and dethrones Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania

The Riott Squad win the Women’s Tag Team Champions

Unify the men’s Tag Team Championships 

Unveil a new Title and give us WWE’s very first Television Championship. It should be styled similar to the NWA and WCW’s TV belts, but on the sideplates it should include USA and Fox on the plates. Shelton Benjamin or Ricochet should be the TV Championship 

Big E reigns supreme as Intercontinental Champion and finally gets to face Roman for the Universal Championship at Wrestlemania 38

Rhea Ripley gets called up and goes to Smackdown

Mercedes Martinez dethrones Io Shirai and becomes NXT Women’s Champion

Karrion Kross reclaims the NXT Championship

Anyone but Johnny Sameface as NXT North American Champion

Queen Of The Ring. The amount of female talent available on Raw, SmackDown, NXT and NXT UK is quite something. It's clear that this is the richest women's division in WWE history. They really should do something with all those workers. The 'Mae Young Classic' tourneys have been fine, but people would trip over themselves to see a fully-fledged 'Queen Of The Ring' epic staged across multiple nights. If booked correctly, this tournament could help establish a new contender for top titles. If she isn't Champion by then(though she should be) the perfect person to become Queen Of The Ring would be Bianca Belair! Bianca Belair would have unparalleled credibility for her 'StrongEST, FastEST, ToughEST' mantra if she whipped a bevy of skilled workers to become the first 'Queen'. WWE could also get creative by linking the event in with Charlotte Flair's nickname and spinning off into a feud between her and the winner afterwards.

Form Full-Time Female Tag-Teams and keep them around. The Women’s Tag Team DIvision is a mess. Keep creating makeshift Tag Teams and breaking up established tag teams and your tag team division is dead. The current champs and their predecessors haven't even been "proper" full-time duos - Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler were shoved together awkwardly in the summer, and they've since been replaced by the unlikely Asuka and Charlotte Flair combo. This cannot be allowed to continue. It's damning that WWE don't have more fully-formed pairings ready to go. The Riott Squad are perhaps the only actual twosome who are presented as a tight-knit collective weekly. Other than that, who is there? Considering the belts have been around for a few years now, that's unacceptable. The IIconics split, so did Sasha Banks and Bayley, and the scene is littered by 'odd couple' tandems like Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce, and Billie Kay teaming with the likes of Natalya or Tamina when it suits.

Ensure NXT is treated like a proper third brand rather than a quasi-development league for Raw and SmackDown. NXT has been on USA Network for over a year now, but it's still very much behind both Raw and SmackDown as a priority. Need proof? Look at the way Keith Lee was handled when he was "called up" after SummerSlam 2020. The former NXT Champ had to start all over again, and he's had several teething problems on Monday nights. It'd be nice to see WWE move away from positioning NXT as a 'feeder' for the other two shows. Changing someone's gimmick when they leave makes the brand look less-than, and there's simply no need for that anymore; NXT should be an equal to Raw and SmackDown, not a development league. Sadly, it still comes across as that. Lee's stop/start plight and the (mis)fortunes of others like Aleister Black and Ricochet should be a lesson to WWE. Some workers are better off rocking the black and yellow, not the red or blue.

AEW

Darby Allin becomes AEW World Heavyweight Champion

Adam Page costs Kenny the title and Page gets revenge and DESTROYS Kenny

MJF destroys the inner circle from within and when Jericho realizes what just happened, that’s when MJF and Wardlow destroys Jericho

Which is when we get a Sammy Guevara babyface turn and we get MJF vs Sammy

Arn Anderson turns on Cody

AEW’s Four Horsemen is formed. MJF, Shawn Spears and FTR with Tully and Arn managing as the JJ DIllon mouthpieces

Darby Allin and MJF feud for the title

The Women’s Division is improved. The girls get more time to shine on Dynamite. Your champion actually appears(shocking, I know) and build feuds and stories for your women’s division. There’s still some time to do what’s right for your women’s division, but the only thing that remains to be seen, does the powers that be of AEW even care?

Get a new title design for the Women’s Championship. It looks like a toy for a child. It’s plastic, not gold.  It should be as big and beautifully designed as the men’s titles. It should be as big as the NWA’s title or even the WWE’s title. The title is symbolic as to how AEW treats it’s own women’s division and that needs to change with a fresh new design.

Sign Thunder Rosa. It may not fix everything with the women’s division, but it gives you your needed star power. Tony Khan should be begging on his hands and knees to sign Thunder Rosa in 2021 after her time with the NWA is up, his women’s division is getting their asses kicked by what his EVP refers to as a “developmental brand”

If you can’t sign Thunder Rosa. My solution is Push Anna Jay and  Britt Baker as the top face and heel of the women’s division and either of them dethrone Shida.

Changes

WWE

Leave whatever that monstrosity of a creative team they have for RAW is. Let the Wrestlers dictate what they want their characters to be. Ditch the scripted promos. Let promos feel organic and real. Let the wrestlers be characters who feel real and genuine. Get rid of a “Creative” that isn't creative and let the wrestlers be creative and let them be free of terrible creative.

Get rid of the Gimmick PPV. WWE has ruined gimmick matches by turning them into themed PPVs. none of these matches are organic or special anymore. The matches themselves are great but are booked to fit a theme of a pay-per-view, when they should be used organically at the height of feuds. no one cares about the name of PPVs, so i don’t understand why WWE does this. the only one that actually works is MITB, because it makes sense as storylines reset after Mania.

Scrap the Brand Warfare/Brand Supremacy. WWE should scrap the tired brand warfare format at Survivor Series and move away from Raw vs. SmackDown completely. Booking around a calendar has become company law in WWE over the past decade or so. Perhaps McMahon always formatted things this way really, but it's more glaring now that gimmick bouts like Elimination Chamber, Hell In A Cell and Money In The Bank have their own pay-per-views. Survivor Series, with it's played out Raw vs. SmackDown vibes, also needs a rethink. "Brand warfare" is boring now, and it has been for several years. Although 2020's event was fun, it's nonetheless true that the month-long build to Survivors feels like a repetitive slog fans are forced to sit through every November. Hopefully, 2021 will change that. It is possible to book traditional elimination bouts without some sort of false show loyalty - WWE did this almost every single year until the first brand split in 2002. Their over-reliance on Raw vs. SmackDown is plain lazy. Survivor Series should be revolved around great rivalries between stables/factions. It’s really not that hard. Or at the very least if there IS a Smackdown vs Raw themed Survivor Series, at least add a damn reward. Give the brand a head start in the Rumble,, give the winners of the match number one contenders for their brand’s respective titles or ANYTHING better than just “brand supremacy lol”

Get rid of the 24/7 title. It has run it’s course. R-Truth is funny, but even he can’t make it work anymore.

Stop. Breaking. Up. Tag Teams. Stop killing your Tag Team Division. For the love of god just stop!

Cut Akira Tozawa’s ninja bullshit. It’s not funny, it’s annoying

Kill Retribution. It’s complete garbage. It has been consistently terrible ever since Retribution began. Mustafa Ali cannot save Retribution, he’s trying but no one can save it. 

Stop the 50/50 booking

Stop rewarding Nia Jax, the living botch machine for injuring her fellow wrestlers

Stop pushing Lars Sullivan. Absolutely no one wants him. 

They should cut raw to 2 hours because 3 hours is unbearable

Stop the overreliance of part time wrestlers. I don’t want to see Goldberg being pushed at the expense of today’s talent and I don’t want to see Goldberg period. I don’t want to see Brock Lesnar return at the expense of today’s talent. I don’t want to see Legends return. Push your current fucking wrestlers and make stars. You idiots!

Do not rush Becky Lynch back to the ring, she just had a baby. I read the reports that Vince wants Becky back by Wrestlemania. That is a terrible decision

Stop killing pushes because Vince changed his mind

Enough with “creative has nothing for you” if your “creative” has nothing for a certain wrestler, then they are not creative. Either let the wrestlers appear on the show or release them if you don’t want them anymore, it’s simple as that.

Do. Not. Put. The. Title. On. Goldberg. Goldberg should not have beaten Bray Wyatt's 'Fiend' for the Universal Title at Super ShowDown in February - that was a huge mistake, one that set Bray back and felt totally unnecessary. In 2021, WWE should outright avoid any temptation to repeat the trick and give ol' Billy another go-around with one of the top titles. If anything, Goldberg's only purpose should be to play victim for a quick Roman Reigns squash. Get through that elusive match then turn Bill into a company ambassador. He doesn't need to pretend it's still 1998 all these years on.

AEW

Leave the overabundance of spots just for the sake of spots and enough with the false finishes. Jim Ross was right, like it or not, the spots for the sake of spots and the false finishes need to end. This is my major problem with AEW and why I can’t stand The Elite in general. Everyone just needs to  get their shit in. Everything looks fake. No one can look strong or credible and we have to see garbage Indy wrestlers and the spot monkeys make everything look fake and phony. The champions never look credible and everyone is on the level of job guys. This needs to change

Stop leaving your Women’s Champion off the show. It is downright insulting how dirty they are doing Hikaru Shida. She deserves as much time to shine as the other champions deserve.

Stop putting the NWA Women’s Champion as more of a priority than your own Women’s Champion

Enough with Brandi. Why is the women’s division given absolutely 0 screentime and barely anytime to develop their stories, but Brandi is ALWAYS THERE! Everything has to be about her. When a feud between Cody and Shaq was close to happening, of course it had to be about her. She’s turned heel/face as much time as the Big Show. I’ve grown tired of Brandi Rhodes. Stop shoving that attention whore down our throats. WE GET IT! You wanna be Stephanie so bad!

Enough with Cody’s big dramatic midlife crisis entrances. We get it, you wanna be Triple H SO BAD!

Stop the petty bullshit shots at WWE. It was fun at first, but it’s getting annoying. This is Eric Bischoff giving away the results and “That’ll put butts in the seats” level of petty bullshit. AEW had the fucking nerve to tweet a fan’s post saying they did a better tribute for Brodie Lee than WWE. HE JUST DIED! AND YOU ARE MAKING IT ABOUT YOUR FUCKING RIVALRY? GROW THE FUCK UP!

[wrestlingisfake]

All Out preview

Here we go with AEW's annual Labor Day weekend show in Hoffman Estates, just like the original All In show three years ago. I have been going to wrestling shows for days, and it all comes down to this!

The show starts at 8pm EDT, streaming on Bleacher Report (in the US and Canada) and Fite.tv for $49.99. A free pre-show will be available at 7pm EDT.

CM Punk vs. Darby Allin - This is CM Punk's first pro wrestling match since January 26, 2014, when he spent 49 minutes in the Royal Rumble working with a staph infection and a possible concussion. The following night he walked out of WWE, leading to seven and a half years of debate about what is next move would/should be. Two weeks ago he debuted with AEW and declared that he wanted to help the younger talent, starting with a match against Allin. Allin, for his part, took some exception to being the first opponent, as if he's just a stepping stone to bigger matches.

The big issue here is seeing how well Punk, 42, has held up after seven years away. I've seen reports that he's looking good in training, but you just don't know until the bell rings. Regardless, I expect the hometown crowd to be very forgiving to Punk, and Allin is good enough to carry the match if he really has to.

I feel like I ought to have more to say about this, but it also feels like everything's been said. I can't believe Punk would lose his first match in. But I can believe that if Punk insisted on doing the job, AEW would let him do that. It'd be unusual for the returning guy to come up short, but New Japan does that sometimes and it can work as a longer build to the first win. Still, it is Chicago (sort of), so my gut says Punk wins to let us feel special.

Kenny Omega vs. Christian Cage - Omega is defending the AEW men's world title. For months, Omega held four different belts, representing championships in AEW, AAA, and Impact Wrestling. But on August 13 Christian defeated Omega for the Impact/TNA world title (and later retired the TNA belt), leaving Kenny more vulnerable than ever. The AAA and Impact titles aren't at stake in this match, so no matter who what happens the winner will be a double champion.

Cage is a great wrestler, but not a great challenger for this match. For months the storytelling pointed towards Hangman Page in this spot, but Page was abruptly written off television so he could take paternity leave. I don't think anybody resents Christian for filling in, but nobody really expects the 47-year-old, recently returned from a seven-year retirement, to win the big one. It's also a rematch of something we already saw a few weeks ago, which isn't a big deal but it's a bit of a talking point when everyone is always dogging WWE for excessive rematches.

The big go-home angle on September 1 was that Omega, the Young Bucks, and their buddies destroyed Christian, the Lucha Bros., and their buddies. After the show went off the air Tony Khan promised that this kind of bullshit interference wouldn't happen in the Bucks-Lucha Bros. cage match. Well, okay, but this match doesn't have a steel cage, so I have a feeling there will be plenty of bullshit interference. And I'm willing to bet that interference gives Omega the win while somewhat protecting Christian.

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix - The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick) are defending the AEW tag team title. The Lucha Bros. won a four-team tournament to earn this shot. The Bucks have relied on a lot of outside interference from their entourage lately, so to counter that this match will be held inside a steel cage. In AEW, the only way to win a cage match is by pinfall or submission.

I was at All Out 2019 when these teams last met in a crazy ladder match (which feels like a million years ago). Everyone raved about it, and also worried that the Bucks damn near killed themselves. Personally I had a really shitty view of the ring, which made it hard to follow the match. This time I've got a much better view, so I'm looking forward to some good karma.

In theory the Bucks have sworn off doing the dangerous shit from the ladder match, but technically this is a cage match so maybe they'll just do different dangerous shit. Personally I'm more intrigued by seeing them change their game to fit in the confines of the cage, which doesn't lend itself to springboard flips off the ropes. But the cage has places to stand at the top, which will encourage the idea of setting up crazy highspots.

I feel like a title change is possible, but I could just as easily see the Bucks hold the belts for another six months. Santana and Ortiz seem to be next in line for a shot, and honestly I think that would work with either of these teams. But I guess I'll lean towards the Bucks retaining.

Chris Jericho vs. MJF - MJF defeated Jericho on November 7, 2020, to earn entry into Jericho's stable, the Inner Circle. MJF inevitably betrayed Jericho and formed his own stable, the Pinnacle, which beat the Inner Circle on May 5, 2021. Jericho was so determined to get revenge that he accepted MJF's terms to perform five "labors" to earn a rematch, but MJF beat Jericho once again on August 18, 2021. So now MJF is 3-0 against Jericho. (For some reason we're counting the ten-man match on May 5 but not the other one on May 30, which Jericho's team won, but whatever.) To get this final rematch, Jericho has put his career on the line.

Suddenly everything else in this storyline has taken a back seat to the idea that this may really be the end of Chris Jericho's 30-year in-ring career. There are plenty of fans who think Jericho, 50, should hang it up, but now that it might actually happen I think people aren't so sure they're ready for it all to end. The timing for Jericho to tease this is perfect, because he could easily just win and go another couple of years, or he could easily just finish today.

Part of what makes this work so well is MJF. I think everyone recognizes that MJF is going to be a top name in the 2020s, and that Jericho wants to make this guy. So it's like, if Jericho can get retired by anyone he wants, why wouldn't he pick MJF? I think the match will feel a little flat if Jericho comes up short yet again, but if it's the end of his career it suddenly doesn't matter if he's lost too many times, y'know?

Still, something tells me this isn't the end. Something tells me Jericho has more he wants to do. And something tells me, in a few years, we may be wondering if it would have been better if he retired on this show.

Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander - Baker is defending the AEW women's world title. I expect to like this match but there's not really much to it. Baker was feuding with Red Velvet a while back and then Statlander made the save for Velvet. Baker and her crony Rebel have brought in Jamie Hayter to stack the deck against Statlander and Velvet. I think it's way too soon for Baker to drop the title, and I don't expect Kris to be the one to take it from her. So this is kind of a formality to kill time until Baker vs. Thunder Rosa down the road.

Miro vs. Eddie Kingston - Miro's AEW TNT championship is on the line. Somehow in the past year Miro has gone from Kip Sabian's gamer buddy to a monster heel who thinks God has anointed him to beat the shit out of people. Kingston has gone from a gutless heel to the most beloved guy in AEW. Wrestling is great.

Anyway, I love both of these guys, but I can't just bet that all the wrestlers have a good time. If Eddie's going to win a championship, it really ought to be in New York. I realize Chicago is AEW's favorite and we get all the good shit, but I've had my CM Punk ice cream and I'm maaaaaybeee going to get the Bryan Danielson debut too, so I'm willing to let New York have this one thing. Just this one time.

Jon Moxley vs. Satoshi Kojima - Moxley is the new GCW world champion following a surprise appearance at last night's GCW show; I assume that does not turn this into a title match. Moxley told top contender Nick Gage "you know where to find me," and it's anyone's guess if Gage will show up here to accept that invitation.

Mox is a busy boy making friends everywhere he goes. For a few weeks he was angling for a match with a top New Japan Pro Wrestling star on this show. The leading candidate was Hiroshi Tanahashi, but several other interesting names were discussed by fans and pundits alike. After that buzz, Kojima is a bit of a letdown.

Don't get me wrong, it's cool to get a guy who's held the IWGP heavyweight title, the All Japan Triple Crown, and the NWA world title. Kojima's a legend. But at this stage of his career, he's the guy New Japan sends when the real stars aren't available. Besides which, my cup runneth over when it comes to 50-year-old guys showing up to prove they can wrestle like they're 40. And I don't think anybody really believes Kojima can beat Moxley.

Ideally, this match should end with a video message from a bigger New Japan name calling out Moxley. I'm not confident that will happen. Then again, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if Moxley showed up in NXT UK to pick a fight with WALTER.

Paul Wight vs. QT Marshall - Formerly the Giant in WCW and the Big Show in WWE, Wight debuted with AEW earlier this year as a color commentator. QT and his goons were picking on Wight's broadcast partner Tony Schiavone when Wight intervened, setting up this match.

I was actually kind of into the idea of this until Marshall showed photos of Wight's recent hip surgery. Up to that point, they'd managed to keep me from noticing if Wight could move okay, and I was willing to accept he could do a basic squash match without a problem. But now I just assume he's broken down and he'll need a lot of smoke and mirrors to do even a simple match. Maybe that's the plan, to get me to lower my expectations and be pleasantly surprised. I sure hope it works out.

I'm about 95% sure Wight clobbers QT and just wins handily. There's a chance QT's squad pulls enough shenanigans to get a bullshit win, but I'm not sure what the point would be.

21-woman Casino Battle Royale - This is AEW's funky concept for a gauntlet battle royale. Five women start the match, and then every five minutes another wave of five enters; the 21st entrant gets to come out alone. Eliminations can occur at any time, by exiting the ring over the top rope to the floor. The last woman left after the others have been eliminated is declared the winner, and receives a future title match against the AEW women's champion.

AEW has announced 20 participants: Abadon, Anna Jay, Big Swole, Diamante, Emi Sakura, Hikaru Shida, Jade Cargill, Jamie Hayter, Kiera Hogan, KiLynn King, Leyla Hirsch, Nyla Rose, Penelope Ford, Rebel, Red Velvet, Riho, Skye Blue (a late substitution for Julia Hart), Tay Conti, The Bunny, Thunder Rosa.

The 21st spot has been left open for a surprise. Ruby Soho (formerly Ruby Riott in WWE) is widely expected to join AEW, and this would be a sensible spot for that to happen. But there are other women who could potentially debut here as a swerve.

I always want to pick the surprise entrant to win these things, but they really haven't done all that well in AEW battle royales. I could see them giving the win to, say, Big Swole, and just having Britt Baker beat her a few weeks later on Dynamite. Or Thunder Rosa could win to set up a major program for the next pay-per-view. They have a lot of options, which makes it hard to predict but fun to watch.

Orange Cassidy & Chuck Taylor & Wheeler YUTA & Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy & Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy & Jack Evans & Angelico - This is booked for the pre-show. Hardy's heel group has been feuding with most of the midcard babyfaces for months. I don't expect this match will blow off the feud, but it'd be nice if it did so we could move on to something else. Orange's team should probably win.

[aion-rsa]

AEW All Out 2020: Date, Time, Card, Matches, Roster, Price, and How to Watch

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There were some growing pains, but All Elite Wrestling has been able to hold its own during the days of COVID. In their last PPV, Double or Nothing 2020, they played up the situation with what’s probably the best ever use of the cinematic wrestling match gimmck with the Stadium Stampede. Now they’re getting ready for their next big PPV, AEW All Out 2020.

There’s some history behind the name of this PPV. AEW’s prototype show back in September 2018 was called All In, which centered around various wrestling promotions and indie talent working together. AEW officially launched a few months later and around its anniversary they had the first All Out. It gave us the crowning of the first AEW Champion in Chris Jericho, an all-women Casino Battle Royal, the surprise debut of Orange Cassidy, and the first (and hopefully not last) Cracker Barrel Clash.

As we prepare for the new edition of AEW All Out, here’s what you need to know about this year’s PPV:

WHEN IS AEW ALL OUT 2020?

The show will take place on Sept. 5 at 8pm ET at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL. Presumably, there will be a Buy-In pre-show at 7 pm.

WHERE CAN I WATCH AEW ALL OUT 2020?

In North America, the show is available on B/R Live. Internationally, you can check it out on Fite.TV.

AEW All Out Price

If you’re watching through FiteTV AEW All Out will cost $49.99. If it’s through another PPV provider, the price is $59.99.

AEW ALL OUT 2020 MATCHES AND CARD

JON MOXLEY (C) VS. MJF

AEW World Championship

Since joining AEW, Jon Moxley has been undefeated in singles competition and it helped him springboard to the top and dethrone original champion Chris Jericho. Moxley has defended the title against Jake Hager, Brodie Lee, Brian Cage, and Darby Allin. So far, nobody’s had his number.

But then there’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Like Moxley, his win/loss record is virtually untouchable. His only losses have come in battle royals, a four-way, and a tag match. At no point has he been pinned in AEW. With major wins over guys like Cody and Jungle Boy, MJF truly deserves a high-profile shot at the title.

MJF also feels that not only is he needed as champion but as the true leader of the locker room. MJF’s ascent has taken the form of a political campaign. He and his pet muscle Wardlow also tried to get Moxley to lose his title to Darby Allin (presumably an easier opponent to win the belt), but Moxley retained regardless.

Moxley retaliated by dropping MJF with the Death Rider. MJF and his lawyer have been insisting that the Death Rider be banned from their All Out match. Moxley agreed to sign the contract, but also put in an extra page claiming that he would get a singles match against MJF’s lawyer first.

The match was, as expected, very one-sided and Moxley destroyed the lawyer. Afterwards, Wardlow ambushed Moxley and MJF followed soon after. MJF bloodied up Moxley and posed with his title belt.

CHRIS JERICHO VS. ORANGE CASSIDY

Mimosa Mayhem Match

Ever since Orange Cassidy casually walked through an Inner Circle promo, Chris Jericho has had his problems with the mellow slacker. This led to a match between the two that Jericho won, thanks in part to his teammates interfering. Orange goaded Jericho into a rematch, mostly because he spilled gallons of orange juice onto him from the rafters. Angry at how his $7,000 jacket was ruined, Jericho agreed with the rule that if Jericho won, Orange had to pay him back for the jacket.

Orange defeated Jericho in the rematch. A week later, when Orange was being interviewed, Jericho came out to congratulate him. Since they were 1-1, Jericho offered a special kind of rubber match. Mixing Orange Cassidy’s love for orange juice and Chris Jericho’s love for “the bubbly,” they would surround the ring with a moat of mimosas. Their match can only be decided by pinfall, submission, or throwing the opponent into the mimosa pool.

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Orange accepted and immediately after, he was beaten down by the Inner Circle. Jericho poured out several bottles of his champagne over Orange’s head. A week later, as Jericho did commentary for Dynamite, the show ended with Orange racing out and brawling with him.

SHIDA (C) VS. THUNDER ROSA

AEW Women’s World Championship

Shida won the AEW Women’s World Championship at Double or Nothing against Nyla Rose. Unfortunately, due to the state of AEW’s women’s division, Shida’s potential challengers either already had their chance, are injured, or aren’t up to the standards of getting a title match. Shida asked for someone to step up.

Thunder Rosa answered. The current NWA Women’s Champion has intent to make her AEW debut by becoming a double champion.

KENNY OMEGA AND HANGMAN PAGE (C) VS. FTR

AEW World Tag Team Championship

This one has been brewing for a while. After losing his chance to be the first AEW World Champion at last year’s All Out, Hangman has wanted out of the Elite. Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks still considered him a friend and that feeling of comradery meant never really respecting his decision. As they were concerned, he was always going to be part of their group…whether he liked it or not. This helped Hangman fall into a downward spiral of drinking, but he also started to gain some success.

Hangman and Kenny won the tag titles and defeated all comers. This included a match against the Young Bucks, which seemed to surprise even Hangman. Between that victory and having to band together against the Inner Circle at Double or Nothing, Hangman seemed to have some sense of peace with his Elite teammates. As he put it, he loved them, but just didn’t really like them.

Enter FTR, formally known as the Revival. For years, people have wanted to see them take on the Young Bucks. They played friendly enough with the Bucks and had a couple moments of conflict with Kenny, but they really got their hooks into Hangman. Hangman became an apologist for every shitty thing FTR did.

This all culminated in a tag team gauntlet between the top ranked four teams. Afraid of having to face and potentially lose to the Young Bucks, Hangman cost them the match. FTR ended up winning in the end. Never getting a chance to explain himself, Hangman proceeded to get chewed out and yelled at by the Bucks, who said that he was no longer part of the Elite and no longer their friend.

A week later, FTR mocked Hangman and said that they barely needed to nudge him. While Hangman is pissed at FTR, he also realizes that Kenny is just as disappointed in him as the Bucks.

CASINO BATTLE ROYALE

Winner Gets an AEW World Championship Match

Introduced at Double or Nothing 2019, the Casino Battle Royale is a 21-man Royal Rumble with a twist. Each wrestler selects a playing card from a deck of 21 cards. Every five minutes, five wrestlers will enter the fray, bundled together by the suit they all drew (hearts, diamonds, spades, clubs). After the first 20 have entered, there’s another five minutes of waiting before whoever drew the joker makes his entrance. Elimination only comes from going over the top rope and having both feet hitting the floor.

As it is right now, the entrants include Darby Allin, Ricky Starks, Brian Cage, Lance Archer, Eddie Kingston, Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix, the Butcher, the Blade, Shawn Spears, Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn, Jake Hager, Santana, Ortiz, Chuck Taylor, Trent, and four others.

MATT HARDY VS SAMMY GUEVARA

Broken Rules Match. If Matt Hardy loses, he must leave AEW

Due to being key parts of the Elite vs. Inner Circle feud, Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara have been at it for a while. Once that faction war blew off, Matt was very open about how he thought Sammy would be better off by himself than with Chris Jericho. Sammy didn’t take this well and the two started messing with each other’s matches. This culminated in Sammy beating Matt into a bloody pulp, including a projectile chair to the skull that busted Matt open.

Matt became obsessed with getting his revenge. The two had a Tables Match on Dynamite and although Sammy won, he also suffered a huge gash on his head. Now the two will face off in what is basically a Last Man Standing bout. If Matt loses, then he’s out of the company.

DARK ORDER VS. NATURAL NIGHTMARES, MATT CARDONA, AND SCORPIO SKY

Nearly week after week, Cody defended the TNT Championship against all comers, whether they were from AEW or the indies. This was starting to take its toll, as shown when he teamed up with Matt Cardona against a couple Dark Order flunkies and when he barely won against Scorpio Sky. This was when Mr. Brodie Lee of the Dark Order chose to make his own challenge.

A week later, Brodie absolutely destroyed Cody. Cody didn’t even get a lick of offense in. The new TNT Champion celebrated by further injuring Cody. He and his cronies spent the week drinking and eating a lot of Chili’s (it’s…a long story).

When celebrating further on the next Dynamite, the Dark Order was interrupted by Dustin, QT Marshall, Scorpio Sky, and Matt Cardona. A brawl ensued and Cody’s friends and family won out. Now the top members of the Dark Order (Brodie, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, and Colt Cabana) will face them at the PPV.

YOUNG BUCKS VS. JURASSIC EXPRESS

In the final show before All Out, an eight-man tag was put together of Young Bucks/Jurassic Express vs. Private Party/SCU with the winning team facing each other at the PPV. Thanks to some impressive teamwork, the Bucks and Jurassic Express came out the winners. The Bucks came off seeming more annoyed than anything else, still angry about losing their title shot.

DR. BRITT BAKER DMD VS. BIG SWOLE

Tooth and Nail Match

Due to a bad leg injury, Britt Baker abruptly had to be removed from Double or Nothing. Rather than hide out and return months down the line, the wheelchair-bound Baker had become an annoying fixture on AEW Dynamite. Eventually, her attitude got the attention of Big Swole, who proceeded to kidnap Baker and throw her into a dumpster. For a while, Swole was banned from the building, but has been welcomed back, ready to get her hands on Baker once she’s able to compete. Swole won a 3-on-1 handicap match to earn a shot at Britt and even pick the stipulation.

Big Swole announced it would be a “Tooth and Nail Match,” but before she could explain what that was, Baker and Reba attacked her. Baker revealed that she no longer needed a wheelchair to move.

Check back for more information on AEW All Out 2020 as we learn more!

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