Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS on Twitch! For this edition, we’re taking a look at All Elite Wrestling’s busy week capping off with their second edition of “Battle Of The Belts” on April 16th. Factor that in with a few other indie promotions that you should have on your radar and you can’t say “nothing i going on in the land of professional wrestling”! There is so much wrestling to talk about, let’s not waste anymore time and jump in, shall we?
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
As previously mentioned, AEW capped off a very busy week of action with “Battle Of The Belts 2” from Garland, Texas (aired on TNT network). Fans in attendance were treated to 3 title belts but the one that stole the show (imo) was the Ring Of Honor world championship match between Dalton Castle and ROH Champ Jonathan Gresham (pictured above). For some of the AEW faithful, they might not have gotten why this was such a big deal. Here’s a quick catch-up why it was:
It has been heavily rumored that Gresham has signed an AEW contract (since Tony Khan owns both AEW & ROH now) & fans should expect to see more of him on AEW programming moving forward. No one bleeds the ideals of ROH more than Gresham. Gresham is arguably the BEST technical wrestler on the planet. Outside of following the indies or ROH, this was the first impression of Gresham to many of the AEW fans. He absolutely put on a fantastic match with Castle & showcased his skills. I strongly suggest going back thru his catalog of work and there will be no doubt on why this is a huge addition for AEW/ROH. Gresham can put on “5 star” matches with anyone you match him against. Just wait till he faces off with Bryan Danielson…… just saying.
The only “bad thing” coming from this match was post match run-in from the Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/ Satnam, in which people on the internet lost their minds to the height comparison of Satnam to Gresham. Let me put this argument to bed once and for all: Danielson is 5’10, AJ Styles 5’11, Rey Mysterio is 5’6 and Gresham 5’4. What do all 4 have in common? They’re all touted for their wrestling skills where everyone’s level when taken down on a mat. Satnam is 7’2. OF COURSE HE’S GOING TO TOWER OVER SOMEONE! For my money, give me someone who can put on solid matches with a good story behind it regardless of their height. If that’s all you can focus on during a match, you’re not watching the right things.
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
New ROH TV champ Samoa Joe (6’2 btw) came in for the save and looked to continue building the story-line he has going with Team Lethal. No surprise he walked away Wednesday with the TV title but it is interesting to see that Satnam appears to be his first challenger for the belt. With someone just coming into the world of professional wrestling, this is fast tracking Satnam into a spot he might not be ready for.
This is also an interesting path for ROH 2.0. With no TV deal (as of this blog), building the stories for their champions with very new talent to the business on AEW programming feels like high risk/high reward. It’s great exposure but this puts a ton of pressure on those new roster members to deliver. Failure to do so won’t be an easy thing to recover from.
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Speaking of storylines, Hangman Adam Page retained his AEW world title against Adam Cole (Bay Bay) in (another) Texas Death match on AEW Rampage. This should be the closure of their feud and hopefully the last TDM we see for a while. Page has had most of this blow-off matches end with that gimmick match. It would be a good thing to mix something else in there for the next one. Now, the question becomes who’s next for Page? The more and more I watch AEW, the answer is becoming more clear:
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
CM Punk has been hinting about making a run for the belt. Looking at how he’s gone over everyone that has been thrown at him on the roster (except MJF), all signs point to Punk facing Page at some point. This could be the Double or Nothing main event. It makes sense. Page’s run as champion has had mixed results. It seemed to finally start getting some steam behind it recently but not doubting this is where Punk goes in and captures the gold. With less that 6 weeks to get a title contender ready, Punk’s story is the easiest to plug and play.
I’m not sure how the AEW faithful will react to this. Fans remember how passionate they were for Page to finally win the big one, but seem to have extremely cooled off to him as champion. This is nothing new to pro wrestling where the fans get fickle when their chosen one wins. The only question now is: Has AEW become fickle enough to make the move? We’ll see in May.
Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling
Major League Wrestling keeps stacking their card for “Kings Of Colosseum” in May with the addition of Taya Valkyrie. It hasn’t been announced who she is fighting yet but it will be a can’t miss match. Don’t forget about their big main event with Hammerstone & Richard Holiday! Guaranteed to have something for all pro wrestling fans. For more info on this card: MLW.com
Photo Credit: Circle Six Wrestling
Circle 6 has announced their 2nd show “Terrible Lie” slated for April 30th. Coming off their strong debut show “Skewered”, Expect there to be no “sophomore jinx” for this promotion. Killer Kross, Scarlett, Rocky Romero and Matt Cross have all been announced for ‘Terrible Lie.” Make plans to check this card out. For more information: Drop that follow for Circle 6 Wrestling
Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling
Rounding out the list of news-making promotions this week, Glory Pro Wrestling has an incredible card set for April 24th live from the Pageant in St. Louis (5PM CST)! How cool is this: Glory Pro is streaming the event FOR FREE on their YouTube channel! With Effy, Allie Katch, Minoru Suzuki on the card (just to name a few) there is no way any pro-wrestling fan should miss this show! Make sure you’re following Glory Pro Wrestling for all the latest on their big moves!
That’s all for this week. Make sure to hit me up on Twitter and let me know about what pro wrestling promotions are making some big moves to discuss. As always, thanks for reading & supporting!