This is the first of our new weekly article on the blog, where the nerds offer 10 takeaways for the week just gone. Anything is on the table, any promotion is able to be discussed and the floor is yours, nerds!
ROSS - HISTORY MADE ON 205 LIVE
There was an interesting booking decision on 205 Live this week, with Tehuti Miles picking up his first ever win on WWE TV over the East London hardman Danny Burch.
I thought it was surprising that Corey Graves was laying it on thick that he won't be impressed with Miles until he picks up the win, as I was certain Burch was on for a victory. He will be challenging Imperium for the NXT tag titles along with Oney Lorcan soon, so for him to be the one to do the job seems a strange choice.
However, so many NXT and 205 Live guys have been treated like jobbers on the main roster of late, so putting the shine on someone new needs to be applauded.
SHAFI - AN ODE TO AEW
AEW has made me love weekly wrestling shows again. I don't remember the last time I watched WWE on a weekly basis but I think it was probably when Ryder was being terrorised by Kane and lost his girlfriend to his best mate John Cena.
Watching Raw every week back then made me feel stupid for giving it my time. Since Dynamite started I have enjoyed it and watched every episode. It reminded me of WCW Nitro (in a good way) and having a super hot crowd every week was something WWE has missed for a long time.
When lockdown started and the empty arena era begun I stopped watching wrestling for a few weeks, seeing how bad Wrestlemania was made me not want to see anymore shows until things are back to normal.
However I went back to Dynamite and found that they have handled not having crowds much better. Every week I have been entertained and this week's Dynamite was arguably one of the best. Britt Baker is killing it as a WCW Jericho-esque heel. I can't stand Statlander so Britt calling out the stupidness of her gimmick was great.
The Inner Circle anchored the show and Jake Hager was as entertaining as he has ever been. FTR debuted! Yes! The finish to the battle royal was very good.
Cody having an open challenge has a lot of potential if it's half as good as Cena's US title open challenge. The angle with Tyson was fun. On the back of the excellent Double or Nothing PPV and this episode of Dynamite my takeaway for the week is that in the Empty Arena Era not all promotions are created equal.
The founders of AEW said that they wanted to change the wrestling business and right now they are the measuring stick that all other companies should be compared against.
MATT C - TREY FOR GOLD, PLEASE
I hope the fella from the rascals wins the TNA belt. He's good.
JCH - BE BETTER, WRESTLING FANS
The wrestling world lost a bright flower this week in tragic circumstances. Hana Kimura wasn't my favorite Stardom wrestler but I loved her energy and attitude. She was, fittingly for this blog, FUCKING FUN.
It's OK to criticise and it's OK to have an opinion but think about what you are saying and how your words can affect others.
How would the abuse you are giving feel if it was coming at you and maybe it's not really necessary to say it at all. Hana Kimura. You will be missed. x
ROSS - ROBERT STONE SACKED?
I was very surprised to see on Twitter the WWE.com exclusive interview where Chelsea Green fired Robert Stone on the back of her tag team win with Charlotte Flair over Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai.
This seems like a big deal and something that probably could have featured on the actual broadcast - especially as the show is now two hours long! I'm excited to see where Chelsea goes from here, but I am sad Stone won't play a part as i was a big fan of them as a tandem.
However, this could simply be making me tune in on Wednesday and we get a big pay off in a manner of possible ways, in which case, this mark is giving this a thumbs up!
BRUM - STATMONKEYS OF THE WORLD UNITE AND TAKE OVER
I like AEW's use of win-loss records. I also think as fans, we shouldn't be too pedantic over them. I even think that a lack of parity between records & opportunities can be a good thing, as it creates stories.
However, this becomes dangerous when it happens with heels. MJF had an 8-0 record for 2020 going into this week. Making him fight in a battle royal for a title shot does not seem fair going by his record.
I think it's great that we're even having this conversation but Big Tony needs to be careful.
BRUM - THE WOMEN OF NXT
In a single weekly television show, NXT managed to progress stories for 10 different women (11 if you count Scarlett). Shotzi, Tegan, Gonzalez, Kai, Candace, Mia, Charlotte, Green, Shirai, & Ripley all had some sort of journey this week. To do that for 10 characters is a big ask for a lot of wrestling shows but to do that for 10 female wrestlers in a mixed company is pretty much unprecedented.
I'm not saying that wrestling shows haven't had 10 women wrestle before, I just can't remember an example of a case where all of them had investible stories which were progressed simultaneously.
The fact that I'm surprised is a testament to how far wrestling booking needs to go to reach parity but let's still celebrate the progress.
BRUM - THATCHER: WHO'S NEXT?
Was Riddle vs Thatcher the best match of the lockdown era? I've not seen every wrestling match in this period, and people have raved about things happening in All Japan, NOAH, & DDT, but it's certainly the best match I've seen. Detractors can point to the speed this feud ramped up, as well as the gimmicky setting of the match, but that doesn't take away from how enjoyable the match was.
With Riddle jumping to SmackDown, I'm interested to see the next steps for Thatcher. In what is ostensibly a clean win against one of NXT's top stars, he's set up very strongly. A collision with Dunne in the future looks both inevitable & mouthwatering, but his immediate future is more opaque.
A short term alliance with his former Ringkampf mates could be interesting but I hope they keep that on the backburner for now. I'd be all for him being the man to take the North American title so we can get Lee vs Cole for the big one.
BRUM - THIS REBEL HEART
Least hot take ever: Britt Baker has been really good since turning heel. However, the part of Britt's act that doesn't get the credit it deserves is Rebel. Rebel's run in TNA was bang average at best but her work since joining AEW has been exceptional.
Her facial reactions & comedic chops in the Baker segments have been at a level we don't usually see in wrestling; deploying a subtlety that pretty much everyone can learn from.
If AEW are patient & stick the landing, a Baker Rebel feud could be a lot of fun, whether the in-ring side delivers or not.
BRUM - JIMMY, JIMMY, JIMMY KIPPING HAVOC
For many PROGRESS fans, Jimmy Havoc is a god. I fit very strongly into that category. Out of a good 20 minute wrestling match & the opening bars of AFI's I Hope You Suffer, I'd probably take the latter.
His signing with AEW was met with celebration because a great guy and a great talent got to shine on the international stage. However, I don't think a lot of us expected him to be a top guy there due to the star power the company has.
Despite a decent record on Dark and having a long and under appreciated match with Cody on Dynamite, Jimmy's run hasn't had a lot of fanfare. This may be about to change, as the oddball pairing of him & Kip Sabian (along with Ford) could be onto a winner. That's not just figuratively either, if the lads win this week on Dynamite, we may have new tag champs.
Granted, it's unlikely, but now may be the time to start the Omega Hangman path & establishing a hot new tag team could be a nice way to kill 2 birds with one stone.
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