Welcome back to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607TWS. It has been a wild week for All Elite Wrestling. This past Sunday was their HUGE co-promoted show with New Japan Pro Wrestling “Forbidden Door”. The event had some great in-ring work from all the competitors but there were a few moments that stand out over others.This evnt led (literally) into a special “Blood & Guts” AEW Dynamite which has fans talking. Let’s break down the highlights and see where these storylines go from here, shall we?
claudio castagnoli
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
The biggest news breaking out of “Forbidden Door” was the AEW debut of Claudio Castagnoli, fka Cesaro in the WWE. Claudio was taking the place of Bryan Danielson, whose is out of action due to injury, against Zach Sabre Jr. at the event. After a great match, Claudio came out at the end of the night of single-handedly waring off the Jericho Appreciation Society in hype of their “Blood And Guts” match on Wednesday. The newly minted member of the Blackpool Combat Club had quite the showing this week in that match. Now the question becomes here do we go from here with the latest signee to an already over-saturated roster?
Short term, Claudio will be featured in programs originally slated for Danielson. This isn’t a bad thing whatsoever. The extremely talented star will have his time to shine right out the gate. However, when Danielson comes back, what happens then. It’s tricky to say, but there are a few directions:
First, Ring Of Honor is returning to pay-per-view later this month with “Death By Dishonor.” It’s possible to see Claudio get shifted over there due to his history with that promotion. Wheeler Yuta is the ROH Pure Champion. Why not have another BCC member be a champion there as well.
Second, and one where I think he should go, is into a program with PAC for the All-Atlantic title. If this belt is geared towards being defended all over the world, why not have Claudio in the mix for that title and travel as an AEW representative. Imagine the dream programs to be had there. The TNT Championship mix would be another great landing spot as well for right now, but getting a new belt over would be something that I feel Claudio would be perfectly suited for.
Lastly, Claudio will be lost in the shuffle like many other recent signings to the AEW roster. I fear this with every new addition to the roster. There is only so much TV time to go around and where will he fit in after Danielson returns and/or there are more signings lurking. It is a problem that hasn’t been addressed yet by AEW (imo) and until it does, everyone has to be ready when its “here today, disappeared tomorrow.”
Its too early to say where, but hopefully AEW's latest addition finds a spot to be permanently featured. Anything less would be a true disservice to all parties involved.
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
As for “Blood And Guts”….This picture sums it up perfectly. A Wild match that was out of control. The sotryline between BCC and the JAS should be done, but remember how many other times have we seen the “Blood And Guts” match be a mid-way point instead of the blow-off match its meant to be?
Jay White
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Jay White retained the IWGP heavyweight championship against Okada, Adam Page and Adam Cole, who was injured during the match. For anyone that wasn’t sold on how good White is, this match stole the main event title away from the AEW championship. This had the big fight feel to the show & White played into it perfectly. With retaining the belt and is post match scrum comments, it will be interesting when the next time we see King Switch back in AEW. It might be a better question to ask “When and where will AEW see King Switch back in a ring vs. one of their champions?” The idea of their champion traveling to Japan to face him seems more and more likely, which I fully support.
Jon Moxley
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
As for the other main event, Jon Moxley defeated Tanahashi to become the first ever 2x AEW World Champion. Unfortunately, this match felt in the shadow of the IWGP championship match thru it’s entirety. Mox winning was also cut short by Chris Jericho and the JAS crashing the post match celebration to make some buzz for “Blood And Guts”. Bad timing and place for that melee. Factor in Claudio running in to clean house and Moxley’s win suddenly became an after thought. Fast forward to Wednesday and there was next to nothing of any memorable time where Moxley’s big win was felt important. Granted, Mox is the interm champion but hopefully this is a one week hiccup. Next week, he faces Brody King after King won the “Royal Rampager” for a shot at the title. I’m fully expecting this to be a great match and get Mox’s run started in a better direction than the previous week did.
FTRHAUSEN
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Last bit of AEW talk for this week: Is there any other tag team in the business at this moment MORE over than FTR? The ROH & AAA champions secured the IWGP tag titles at “Forbidden Door” and progressed frward with a fun 6-man tag with Danhausen. There is only one direction they can go from here. They have been the #1 contenders for MONTHS now for the AEW Tag Team titles. MONTHS. It hs been a travesty they haven’t been given a title shot by now. With “All Out” lurking in September, all signs point to an AEW tag title match where winners take ALL. Dax & Cash have been breaking their necks for the company without getting near those belts. It’s time to finally fix that. BOOK THE YOUNG BUCKS VS. FTR 2 ALREADY!!!!!
photo credit: Major League Wrestling
Hitting the indie circuit: In HUGE news from Major League Wrestling, the one and only Mance Warner is returning to the promotion for in-ring action on August 27th at MLW FURY ROAD hailing from El Paso, Texas. Warner has been tearing it up with SGC in GCW but he’s now returning to a promotion which he’s had a very lengthy history . To say this is a big surprise is an understatement. Keep an eye on MLW.com for more information on this story.
Credit: Game Changer Wrestling
Speaking of GCW, they have a big Fourth of July Weekend with their “Road Trip Bundle” on Fite TV. GCW “Dead On Arrival” and “Gateway To The Death” has been solid with #GCWGateway having some Match Of The Year candidates. GCW Rock - N Roll Forever will have history being made as it’s scheduled to be the final match for the legendary Rock'-N-Roll Express in Evansville, Indiana where they have had some of their biggest matches in their hall of fame career. Make sure to get this package and don’t miss the action.
That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this week. If you’re reading this in the United States, have a safe and healthy Fourth Of July Weekend! Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling action you’ve been watching. Thanks as always for reading and supporting!