AEW ALL OUT FINAL PREDICTIONS

Welcome to a special edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS: the Wrestling Show. It’s a HUGE weekend of wrestling going on with GCW’s Second City Summit & WWE’s Clash at the Castle along with NXT Worlds Collide. On this week’s 607TWS, the whole 607podcasts family gave their previews for those events. However, the show that everyone will have their eyes on is AEW’s “All Out” hailing from Chicago 8pm EST (available on BR Live). The card has been evolving since the go-home show on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite. Let’s take a final preview and give the last predictions until Sunday, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW ALL OUT BUY-IN SHOW (7PM EST)

Angelo Parker vs. HOOK (FTW Championship)

This match has come together pretty quickly, but let’s face it: The AEW Faithful LOVE Hook. There was no way he’s missing the show and there’s no way he’s losing in this one. Winner: HOOK

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Eddie Kingston

This is a “replacement” match from the first match announced for this card: Sammy Guevara vs. Kingston. This is definitely in Sammy’s best interest considering the drama backstage with him and Kingston. Ishii is a solid replacement but I don’t see Kingston taking the L here. Winner: Eddie Kingston

Kip Sabian vs. PAC (All-Atlantic Championship)

The forgotten title on AEW is getting defended against a forgotten wrestler. Sabian has fallen thru the cracks with all the new signings and disappeared to the point he started wearing a paper bag mask to shows. FINALLY, the powers that be are using one of their original signees in profile match. Unfortunately, Sabian’s return will be empty handed. PAC just won the belt at Forbidden Door in June. He’s not dropping it here. Winner: #ANDSTILL PAC

Oritz and Ruby Soho vs. Tay Melo & Sammy Geuvara (AAA mixed tag team championship)

This literally was added as I’m typing this blog. Sammy is back on the card after all the drama after all. Ruby and Ortiz got the win on AEW Rampage. Unfortunately, they’re not going back to back with the wins. Winners: #ANDSTILL Tay and Sammy

FTR & Wardlow

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW ALL OUT MAIN CARD 8pm EST (BR Live)

Jay Lethal & The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs. FTR & Wardlow

This is a very puzzling match as the TNT Champion and ROH Tag Team Champs are NOT defending their titles. Instead, it feels like a filler match but with 6 over-talented people in that ring. Wardlow has a feud going on with Team lethal and FTR isn’t getting an AEW title shot regardless of being no. 1 contenders for 8 months now. Super happy to see MCMG in AEW and hopefully this isn’t the last time. That said, The Pinnacle will rise to get the victory here. Winners: FTR/Wardlow

Powerhouse Hobbs Vs. Ricky Starks

One of AEW’s best storylines, Team Taz’s final goodbye happens here. Starks is prime for a bigger role on the card and ending feud with Hobbs here makes perfect sense. This will be a sleeper mach on the card but we are about to bear witness to the start of the Starks Era. Winner: Ricky Starks

Miro, Sting, & Darby Allin vs House Of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews)

In the “Why” moment of the night, Miro is teaming with Sting and Darby Allin to take on the House Of Black. “Why” because Miro has been thrown in this storyline and it doesn’t feel organic. House of Black has been an after thought on the roster (IMO). I’m hoping for an upset here cause if the House loses another big profile match, this would be a major blow to one of the more hyped factions in AEW. For argument sake, I’m going against what I think will happen. In the House We Trust. Winners: House Of Black via REASONS

Bryan Danielson

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho

This match has two first ballot hall of famers going at it on the big stage. Jericho has been borrowing from the Book of Mick Foley lately by tapping back into “former” personas. For this match, Jericho is going back to the “LionHeart” time. Danielson has just returned from injury and become wrapped up into a battle for Daniel Garcia, the Jericho Appreciation Society member whos earned Danielson’s respect and looks to be flipping sides. While that would make a great flip (esp. sending Wheeler Yuta to the JAS), I’m calling Garcia causes Danielson to take the pin and reunite the JAS. Winner: Chris Jericho

Jungle Boy vs Christian Cage

If the promos are any indication, this will be another sleeper match. Cage went from advisor to Jurassic Express to super villain to the AEW faithful. All signs point to Luchasaurus turning on Jungle Boy and become Cage’s muscle ala the days with Tomko in Impact Wrestling. Winner: Christian Cage.

Casino Ladder Match: Wheeler Yuta vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Rey Fenix vs. Penta vs. Andrade El Idolo vs. Rush vs. Dante Martin vs. “The Joker”

A ladder match to determine a future championship opportunity? Nothing earth shattering here, but the field is very solid. It will be a great match, but unless there’s a big tie swerve, history has shown to bet on the Joker during these matches. Nothing new there. As for who’s the Joker? Some will say MJF, but I’m going with Winner: ADAM COLE (BAY BAY)

Athena vs. Jade Cargill (TBS Championship)

Cargill is undefeated and on a roll. Athena is the next contender and has been trying to make the most from this storyline. This will be a great test to see how far Cargill has progressed (remember she’s only been doing this for a year years now). All signs point to Cargill winning but I’m going a different rout that I;ll explain a bit later. Winner: #ANDNEW Athena

Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. Hangman Adam Page/Dark order (AEW Trios Tag Championship)

What a long, strange trip this has been. When this tourney was announced, most fans saw Hangman Adam Page joining the Bucks for the tourney. That didn’t happen but fans saw Kenny Omega return from nearly 9 months off from injury to help the Bucks get to the finals. Page was still part of this tourney as a late replacement for 10 with the Dark order to help get them to the finals.

This should be an excellent match. The Bucks show out for the PPV’s. Silver and Reynolds are very slept on for how good they are as a team. Omega and Page have a lengthy history ranging from being partners to rivals resulting in Page taking the World Title from Omega. That all said, the safe money is bet on the Elite, but what happens if someone interferes and costs the Bucks the titles? How bout an Adam Cole (Bay Bay). This becomes an even safe bet if he’s not the joker in the ladder match. Winners: Hangman/Dark Order.

Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida (AEW Interim Women’s Championship)

Thunder Rosa is out due to injury so Toni Storm needed a new opponent. She got 3 instead. Baker and Shida are former champs. Hayter is a BIG X Factor as she’s been Baker’s muscle for months now. With everything going on, this was a great call to make. If we’re doing this Locks & leaps style, Winner: the Lock is Toni Storm. Regardless if this was vs. Rosa or everyone else, she’s becoming champ.

Why this makes even more sense. Remember when I said Jade Cargill might drop the TBS title, the only reason I see that happening is so she would be on a path vs. the Women’s champion if it’s Storm or Rosa at “Full Gear”. How fast we get there is another question, but Lock is Storm, Leap is Hayter.

Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee (C) vs. The Acclaimed (AEW world tag team titles)

First and foremost, FTR should be in this match. Secondly, this match had very little build to feel “pay Per View” level. Swerve and Lee have been a great team, but if rankings matter, they should have different opponents. The Acclaimed seem to have come out of nowhere to get the shot. Granted, they are over with the AEW faithful but is that enough here? This will be a great match but without a noteworthy build, it’s reading like this will be an easy #ANDSTILL for Swerve and Lee.

CM Punk

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Jon Moxley

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

CM PUNK VS. JON MOXLEY (C) - AEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

A few questions answered, a few more raised. That’s the general reaction to this match. After 7 years away, CM Punk returns to wrestling and defeats Adam Page at “Double Or Nothing”to win the World title. Punk gets injured shortly there after and is out of action for a few months with a foot injury. In the meantime, an interim world champ was decided with Moxley taking on a battle royal winner (Kyle O’Reilley), winning at “AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door” to become interim champ, and has been defending it left and right since. Punk returns a few weeks ago, and fans get the main event of All out on free TV for all of 3:11 as Punk appears to re-injure his foot and Moxley squashes him. This past week’s AEW Dynamite showed Ace Steel, longtime friend of Punk giving him a “Rocky-esque” speech to help him find his smile and sign the open challenge for All OUT.

The first question that comes to mind is why do this match on Dynamite if it’s going to be a squash. What’s the incentive to see another match? Sure, there was a great speech by Steel, but what does that mean for a match where the opponent ran right thru Punk? Can one speech wipe away that memory from fans so they shell out $49.99 on PPV to watch? The answer to that will be shown in the buys for the PPV. If the buys are low, then the fans tuned out. If they are huge, then the fans bought in.

The second question is what is the true status of Punk? Is he able to go at the high level expected for this spotlight? The answer is: He has to be. Running it back so quickly after a squash, Punk has to go an easy 20 mins + to get this match over. I feel he will. Knowing it’s in Chicago and what this means for his legacy, there is no alternative.

The last one: Moxley is on fire right now with his AEW run. Does he drop the belt? That one is a bit more easy to decipher. Since his return last year, everything AEW has been building centers around CM Punk. Love it or hate it, he’s the franchise guy since Cody Rhodes left. By forcing a story to be had, squash match, inspirational speech and all interview points in between, all signs point to CM PUNK #ANDNEW.

Overall, AEW All Out is a very loaded card that will be generating some buzz whenever it gets over (banking this might be a 4+ hour show). In the meantime, hit me up on Twitter and let me know your picks and thoughts for AEW’s big sunday night.

For more pro-wrestling content, Listen to the latest 607TWS this week. Thanks for reading.

MOX VS PUNK/BOUND FOR GLORY/CIRCLE 6 CATALYST

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary Pro Wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast & 607 TWS: The Wrestling Show. Fans are on the road to AEW All Out taking place Sept. 4th live on PPV and hailing from Chicago, Illinois. There has been a LOT of talk coming from this week's AEW Dynamite and a promo that shifted gears (in theory) for where we were heading to in September. AEW is delivering MOX VS. PUNK next week! The timing of this promo is ironic too as it was 1 year ago that CM Punk arrived in AEW. Let's take a look at this and some other noteworthy stories in the land of pro wrestling this week, shall we?

CM PUNK

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

On Wednesday, CM Punk made a proper return to the ring after time off from foot surgery. During this promo segment, Punk wasted no time in taking direct shots at Hangman Adam Page and Eddie Kingston before shifting gears towards Intern Champ Jon Moxley. Moxley gave some verbal jabs back before an impromptu scuffle began. This went on for a while and then started back up later in the show. The result from all of this: The main event for “All Out” has been moved up to next week’s Dynamite. This instantly raised some questions.

To start with, IF this match has a clean finish, what can you replace your main event at All Out with? For being the biggest (or second depending on where you rank Double Or Nothing) show of the year, messing with the main event this close to the show is a huge gamble. It almost leads to think there will be a time limit draw or some kind of odd ending to justify running it back. The only thing this might produce is a ratings spike…but what if it doesn’t? Unlike others, ratings don’t make my world spin, but for those that do, IF Dynamite doesn’t draw over 1 million viewers+ (gauge 1.3 to 1.4 range), what does that say about how many people are excited about this feud to pay $50 to watch it again when they didn’t show up to see it for free?

Another question is we are now at the 1 year anniversary of Punk joining AEW. If making him the marquee name of the company via being champion doesn’t draw big on Wednesday, how will Punk’s first year be defined? You may say “well, it’s only a match”, but is it really? This was the biggest match to put on their flagship PPV. If viewing numbers stay the same as they have hovered around the same number of viewers for weeks now, was the nostalgia signing the right call? At the time, yes but as the months have grown on, fans’ opinions about Punk have varied. Viewership hasn’t been consistently over 1 million on his shows. If he’s the face of the franchise and there’s been no growth, how should that be taken? Wednesday should be a good indicator of how to answer that. Punk needs to equal ratings, for if this stumbles, AEW will need to make a bigger main event on short notice to cover this up. Only time will tell if/when they’ll need to do that and make a call about if it’s still the “Summer Of Punk” again or is Summer over?

Don Callis, Kenny Omega and Michael Nakasawa

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

On Wednesday, fans were greeted to the return of the one and only Kenny Omega! In case anyone might have forgotten, Omega is one of the best wrestlers on the planet right now. Wildly decorated in NJPW and AEW, Omega brings a pedigree to AEW that few others can match. Omega was the mystery 3rd partner to the Young Bucks in the AEW Trios Tournament. Omega has been gone a long time healing up from some injuries. How did he fare in the ring?

Well, Omega didn’t look like the Omega of old, but I will chalk that up to him being inactive for so long. However, Omega at 50% is still better than most others at 100%. The match vs. Andrade, Rush and Dragon Lee was a good “welcome back” for Omega. Moving forward, Omega will surely get back to the “Best Bout Machine” status he’s known for but it will take time. Being in the Trios Tourney might be a blessing in disguise for Omega being able to get his timing back while letting the Young Bucks take the majority of the action. It’s what he will do POST tourney that intrigues me most. Will he go for the singles title again or will he be with the Original Elite vs. The “Undisputed Elite”? It’s still way too early to tell but it’s great to see Omega back in the squared circle.

Claudio castagnoli

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

It was also announce on Friday’s AEW Rampage that Ring Of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli had an open challenge that was answered by Dustin Rhodes. It was a very solid segment between two veterans of the squared circle. Their match is set for next week’s AEW Rampage and will be a fun one to watch. Claudio is getting much needed TV time with the belt.

I’m still set on eventually making Rampage into ROH Rampage. This is a great place t let ROH talent be showcased until if/when they get a TV deal. rampage’s numbers are not the best, so why not make the switch? It’s a no brainer.

Julia Hart & Buddy Matthews

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Also on Rampage, fans witnessed the start of what I hope becomes a really drawn out feud: Miro vs. Biddy Matthews. Ignore Miro’s “unique” promos and let me start messing with the House of Black on the regular. It can work wonders building both up.

As for Matthews, he’s been called the “Best Kept Secret” in wrestling for years now. AEW needs to let him loose and build a solid foundation when he’s has time to work. Giving him an opponent like Miro i a great start but they need to continue to grow this story line without getting lost in the shuffle.

Photo Credit: Impact Wreslting

Impact wrestling has officially announced their Main Event for their biggest show of the year: Bound For Glory! Current Impact world champion Josh Alexander is set to face Eddie Edwards in what should be an excellent match. The card is chapping on October 7th, and hailing from Albany, NY! For more information on how to check this show out, click here.

Photo Credit: Circle 6 Wreslting

Last bit of news for the week: It has been announced that Circle 6 will be streaming on Fite TV! As a fan, I’m super excited to check them out on Fite. The first show on Fite is “The Catalyst” which will crown the first Circle 6 heavyweight champion. One of the biggest hang-ups I’ve had with this promotion is how they stream their fights. Being on Fite will clear a lot of those issues up! Make sure you’re following Circle 6 on socials for more info about this card.

That’s all the pro wrestling talk for this week. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what Pro Wrestling you’re checking out. As always, thanks for reading!

AEW DOUBLE OR NOTHING WEEK/ GCW MANIAC/ GP MASSIVE AGGRESSION

Welcome to an all new edition of Blog Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast and #607TWS on Twitch (and in podcast form). This week, all the eyes that aren’t focused on the Sasha banks/Naomi/WWE drama are laser focused on the 3 year anniversary of All Elite Wrestling’s “Double Or Nothing” going down in Las Vegas May 29th!

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW’s biggest* (depends on opinion between DoN & All Out) Pay Per View event has forever been mentioned as the “Anniversary” date of the Tony Khan-led company. 3 years ago, this was the debut show following the New Years Eve announcement & following press conferences shortly there after introducing the wrestling world to the newest player on the pro wrestling landscape. Since that time, a LOT has changed & going into the show, there’s a few story lines to keep an eye on this week of AEW programming.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Are we heading into the “Reign Of Punk”? Will “Hangman” Adam Page retain? This is the question on the minds of AEW fans. There has been some promo segments between the two & one final “face-to-face” is announced for Dynamite this week between the DoN main event participants, but does it already feel like all signs are leaning to #ANDNEW on Sunday?

Page’s run as champ has felt very lackluster in comparison to other previous champions. On the flip side, Punk has come off better in each segment with this feud and in more position to FINALLY go “Best In The World 2.0” by the time the match is over. IMO, Page needs to have a very strong moment on Wednesday night to sway where things appear to be going. It’s possible, but I’m still saying we’ve got a new champ at DoN until further notice.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The next one to keep an eye on this week is the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) members Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson teaming with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz vs. “The Wizard” and his Appreciation Society. There isn’t a tremendous amount of build up for this as far as the BCC is concerned but it still works. The JAS (ugh) storyline with Team Kingston has been solid. The billing for this match is “Anarchy In The Arena” and it should be.

A few quick notes concerning this match:
1. Wheeler Yuta is not involved in this as he’s currently competing in Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Best Of The Super J’s

2. Bryan Danielson appeared to have been slightly banged up after AEW Rampage tapings after a weird freak issue with his leg getting stuck in the rampway. As of this blog, he’s slated to still be a go

Fans shouldn’t expect a lot of technical moves and be ready for a great street fight as this is how it’s looking to play out. Anytime we get Moxley teaming up with Kingston is a win.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The last one to watch this week is the “Undisputed Elite” stories. It was announced the Young Bucks will be facing the Hardys at DoN. Two great teams facing off for the first time in an AEW ring? Solid addition for the card. This is resulting from the aftermath of Adam Cole defeating Jeff Hardy in the Owen Hart Foundation Tourney. It also seems as we’re gearing for a possible Cole/Samoa Joe Mens final for the Tourney as well.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Joe punched his ticket for a match with Kyle O’Reilly with a win over the AEW debuting Johnny ELITE (fka John Morrison, Johnny Impact, etc.). With a win there, the finals are set unless fan get a major swerve and its O’Reilly vs. Cole (Bay Bay) one more time. Somehow I don’t think AEW is gonna go that route for the finals but we will have to tune in on Wednesday to find out!

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Switching gears, Game Changer Wrestling kicked off a big west coast pair of shows with GCW Manic taking place on May 21st and “GCW Downward Spiral” happening next Saturday. Get the bundle on Fite & don’t miss these incredible shows

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Glory Pro Wrestling has a cant-miss card airing on their YouTube page Sunday May 22nd! GP “Massive Agression” is headlined by Eddie Kingston vs. Davey Richards & many other great matches on this card! Follow now and don’t miss it!

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Last but not least, Major League Wrestling has announced Lince Dorado is the latest name entered for Battle Riot 4 on June 23rd! For more information, check out MLW.com

That’s al the pro wrestling talk for this edition. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re watching this week. For more pro wrestling content, Follow the ODPH podcast and 607 TWS.

As always, thanks for reading!

DARBY vs HARDY/ALL EYES ON MJF/GCW MANIAC

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (and in podcast form). It’s been a few weeks since the last blog & apparently someone heard the call out about NOT sending over files on the latest podcasts becuse the deck is now reloaded to talk some pro wrestling with everyone. It’s been an interesting week to say the least so lets catch up on some of the latest news, shall we?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Kicking off the news cycle is All Elite Wrestling. On AEW Dynamite, The Owen Hart Foundation Tourney is fully underway and fans were gifted one of the wildest matches in recent memory for the first round: Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy. They made this match a “No Rules” one and fully went over the top with the spots. Take a look at this literally INSANE ladder jump from Darby onto a table of chairs with Jeff in the middle of the path! Not to be outdone, Jeff did a spot landing badly on the steel steps in attempts to hit Darby with a move. After the smoke cleared, Jeff Hardy advances onto the next round of the tourney to face Adam Cole (Bay Bay).

While this match gave some memorable moments, it was one that also brought some concern as well. Both these guys wanted to steal the show (and did) but the two spots that stood out were extremely risky even for the style of wrestling they’re known for. Allin and Hardy are considered “daredevils” in the minds of fans. They lived up to the moniker but post match, were those two dangerous spots worth it to tell their story? In comparison, you had Cole vs. Dax in a very solid opening bout with no wild spots. When did the tourney rules change on the fly for “No Rules”?

Imo, they could have told the same story with some big move spots but not over the top as this match felt. Either way, I’m glad (thus far) no major injuries were reported post match. Considering how abusive those spots were for two guys that have put their bodies on the line numerous times and dodged the bullet of something career ending, no news is definitely good news post match. Onto the next round…

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

There has also been a LOT of rumbling about the one and only MJF. Rumors have been swirling about possibly looking elsewhere when his contract runs out and being unhappy with the direction of his character. On AEW Dynamite, they have set up him vs. Wardlow at AEW Double Or Nothing but not without rehashing some familiar storylines…..

For Wardlow to get his match, he has to take 10 lashes from MJF THEN defeat Shawn Spears in a cage match with MJF as referee. It’s god to see this storyline get more time as Wardlow is now on his “Batista”push but haven’t see seen this exact storyline play out in AEW before? Remember when Cody Rhodes endured lashes and a cage match to get to MJF? I do - February 2020. Why are we going back to that well for ideas? If the frustration reports are true, I can fully understand why.

MJF is a STAR in the business. Why not give him something fresh to work with than hit the reset on the Cody feud of the past? For someone as talented as he is, there should be another way to get to the match with Wardlow. After that match, where do we go from here? Imo, there’s only one way to go (and I won’t mind the reset here): Set him on the path to face CM Punk, who WILL be world champion at Double or Nothing, at All OUT on Labor Day weekend. Otherwise, if he’s not involved in a title program, the rumors will become even louder heading into the summer.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Other quick AEW notes: Seeds are getting planted for a possible Blood and Guts match with the Blackpool Combat Club (minus Wheeler Yuta, who will be involved in the BOSJ’s tourney in New Japan) teaming with Eddie Kingston, Santana & Ortiz vs. the Jericho Appreciation Society. Fully all-in for this match. Makes sense for all parties involved. This is also a HUGE moment for Daniel Garcia and 2.0 to showcase their talents. This could be a late addition to Double Or Nothing, but no matter when this goes down, it’s gonna be a fun match to watch. Stay tuned.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

HOOKHausen is REAL! The match has been made (after a complete squash of Danhuasen by Tony Nese). Hook made the save post match and the handshake heard round the world happened! HOOKHausen will face Smart Mark Sterling and Tony Nese on the buy-in for Double or Nothing. AEW’s version of the Rock n’ Sock connection starts now! Curious to see how far they go, but I’m all in for this pairing.

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Quick Notes: Major League Wrestling had their big “Kings Of Colosseum” card this past Friday night. Huge buzz about the Taya Valkyre v. Holidead match as well as the impact from the new Samoan Swat team. Fallout from this great card will only get fans more excited as MLW heads to NYC for Battle Riot 4 on June 23rd. Follow MLW on Twitter for more information.

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

GCW heads into next week with one of the best cards you will find anywhere with GCW Maniac. The home for the BEST scramble matches in pro wrestling has one that you can’t miss! AJ Gray puts the GCW Extreme Championship on the line against John Wayne Murdoch, Jack Cartwheel, Jimmy Lloyd, Cole Radrick and NINJA MACK! Make plans to order this card on Fite.tv as soon as possible!

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

Coming off the HUGE show at the Pageant, which was an absolute classic card, Glory Pro Wresting has another must watch card with “Massive Aggression” taking place on May 22nd 3 pm CST. Davey Richards vs. Eddie Kingston….NUFF said. Even better? the card is FREE on Glory Pro You Tube so drop that subscribe now and don’t miss the show!

Photo Credit: Xcite Wrestling

Last but not least, Xcite Wrestling had to reschedule Xcite vs. The Worlda week later due to a situation out of their control. Fear not, as the show is slated for Saturday May 14th with a marquee match-up with Sean Carr returning to Xcite after some time off to face a rising star in the ranks of the xcite roster whose return can only be called “SuperB” thus the nickname. Carr vs. Super B is the match to catch this weekend. Hit Xcite on Facebook for all the latest happenings there.

Its good to be back talking some pro wrestling. Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out! As always, thanks for reading and supporting 607 podcasts!

AEW x NJPW FORBIDDEN DOOR / BATTLE OF FTR / GCW THE OLD ME

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH Podcast & #607TWS on Twitch. Since the crazy weather in Upstate NY has finally passed and no more power outages expected (knock on wood), It’s time to recap some stories that you need to know about. First on the list is an announcement from AEW that had been rumored for a few weeks now but was made official on AEW Dynamite this week. What a moment on the show to see this: AEW owner Tony Khan on stage with New Japan Pro Wrestling president Takami Ohbari (with an assist from “King Switch” Jay White and Adam Cole (Bay Bay) to top it all off).

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The announcement: AEW is partnering up with New Japan Pro Wrestling for “Forbidden Door” on June 26th hailing from Chicago, Illinois . The event will also be available via Bleacher Report & usual AEW Pay Per View outlets. Tickets on sale May 6th at AEWTIX.com

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Wrestling fans have a very big win on their hands if done right. For AEW, it continues the whole “Forbidden Door” movement that was first created when Kenny Omega led a talent exchange with Impact Wrestling. That was a very mixed experiment where AEW went over more in comparison to the favor being returned for Impact. In fact, it feels like Impact was the true “Forbidden Door” for the amount of talent that swung thru from AEW and NJPW. It will get some new eyes on their product but retaining will be a question.

NJPW is known for a different style, often referred to as “Strong Style.” How the AEW faithful will adapt to this is something to watch. NJPW has more to gain out of this venture. They have started expanding into the American market with “NJPW Strong. With a big push from AEW, that could generate into more fans. However, the track record with NJPW going over on AEW programming has been very limited. Take a look at Minoru Suzuki’s record on all AEW programming. For this to work, NJPW needs to score some noteworthy wins on AEW talent (not ROH ones).

It’s a risk worth taking never the less. The show needs to be an equal playing field at the end of the day. Otherwise, if this becomes a paid infomercial for how great AEW is over another company, it will be all for nothing. Hopefully the powers that be over at AEW have learned from the Impact run and will be better with this moving forward. Safe money we see Kenny Omega’s return at this show as well.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Fans were also treated to the latest escapades of one of AEW’s more interesting fueds: Hook vs. Danhausen. Originally, I wasn’t on board, but the more they’re building this, I’m becoming invested. Maybe Danhausen cursed this blog? IDK. It appears we’re finally going o get a match from the two since Hook is”immune” to Danhausen’s curses.

This feud will only end one way: you are looking at the next “Rock ‘N Sock connection.” For entertainment purposes, it’s a win on many levels. This odd couple connects with fans differently. After their match, I see this playing out like a “You’ve earned my respect, Danhausen” deal and they go from there. With team Taz feeling like it’s in limbo right now, it’s perfect for the new talent AEW fans are buzzing about.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Also announced for next week’s AEW Dynamite: The Battle of FTR for the Owen Heart Foundation Tournament. One time only and hopefully they give this at least 12 mins. Maybe open the show with it. The best tag team in the business going one on one? The fans win this one. CAN’T WAIT.

Photo Credit: Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling has announced who Taya Valkyrie will be facing at Kings Of Colosseum’ 22.Holidead is lined up as the opponent for the inaugural Women’s Featherweight Championship. Very excited to see this match as well as the main event between Hammerstone and Richard Holiday. For more information: MLW.com

Photo Credit: Glory Pro Wrestling

As mentioned on 607TWS this week, Glory Pro Wrestling has an absolutely can’t miss card happening on Sunday, April 24th from The Pageant in St. Louis. My pick of the weekend has to be te match between Jake Something & Minoru Suzuki. If in the area, tickets are almost sold out. If you’re out of town, Here’s the link to watch on YouTube with Glory Pro is streaming FOR FREE!

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Closing out this week’s blog is some Game Changer Wrestling news. On Friday night, GCW had an absolutely fantastic card from Columbus, OH with “Find You Again”. Blake Christian calling out Johnny Gargano! Jordan Oliver vs. Alex Shelley! THAT SCRAMBLE MATCH! Watch the replay on Fite.TV

Tonight’s “The Old Me” from DETROIT looks to continue their win streak of shows. Briscoes vs. SGC in a fucking scaffolds match?! HERE WE GO. Order the show now if you haven’t and get ready!

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out this weekend. As always. thanks for reading and supporting the blog!

AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS 2 / CIRCLE 6 RETURNS / GLORY PRO WRESTLING

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!

FTR keeps rolling/WHEELER YUTA/MLW Kings of Colosseum

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch (& in podcast form). For this edition, it’s the post Wrestlemania hangover but some other promotions have picked up some steam as of late. When the fans aren’t talking about Tony Khan and “BotGate”, All Elite Wrestling has had some moments that should be the talk of their promotion. Let’s dive in on those, shall we?

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The biggest story fans should be talking about is the long overdue ascension of FTR in the AEW tag team ranks. No tag team in the business has been putting on absolute classic matches with the Young Bucks and Briscoes quite like Cash & Dax. Since debuting in AEW, they made a big splash early & had the “dream match” with the Young Bucks at Full Gear in November 2020. After that, they seemed to have become lost in a very large roster and almost an after thought. Sure, they were paired in MJF’s “Pinnacle” faction but what has really stood out from them during their time there? Other than defeating the Lucha Bros for the AAA titles, there’s very little highlights imo.

Fast forward to December 2021: after taking to social media to build their feud (the right way) with the Briscoes in Ring Of Honor (to the point of crashing the party at ROH Final Battle), FTR has finally gotten back to being the benchmark of tag team wrestling. Hardcore fans have known this for years but for casuals, it’s all about what has been done lately. Within a weeks time, They’ve been putting on incredible matches & winning against 2 of the best teams in the business.

Where do they go from here? Simple: Keep them in the spotlight and featured on AEW programming. For having one of the deepest tag divisions, FTR has a lot of suitors to start some storylines with (ReDRagon and Santana/Ortiz are top of my list). FTR has worked their way to the top by putting the work in. Now, it’s time to let them do what they do and remind fans on how GOOD tag team wrestling can be each week! #FTRFTW!

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

FTR isn’t the only ones making a big splash this week. Wheeler Yuta has now become a made man in a lot of fans’ eyes. Yuta defeated Josh Woods for the ROH Pure title and had an absolute star-making performance on AEW Rampage with a loss to Jon Moxley. Why he needed to bleed during that match idk. Maybe its a weird sign of initiation to the Blackpool Combat Club with Moxley, Bryan Danielson, & William Regal. There’s been an odd “Fight Club” feel to Yuta trying to join BCC. It’s similar to Jared Leto’s character trying to join Brad Pitt’s group from that movie.

Regardless of the influence, Yuta broke thru with that match. It was excellent & gave the young star a win in defeat. Since he’s been with AEW, Yuta is another talent lost in the shuffle. Paired with Best Friends is still something but never went anywhere. It finally looks like his time is now and he couldn’t be in better company. Hopefully when ROH gets rolling, Yuta can maintain that momentum with the Pure title. Give me Yuta v. Lee Moriarty asap for the belt!

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Speaking of Ring Of Honor, it has been announced that Samoa Joe will be facing Minoru Suzuki on AEW Dynamite for the ROH TV Title. As mentioned on last week’s blog, Suzuki wasn’t going to be holding the belt long and Joe makes sense to take the belt from him.

Joe is a star to build the new ROH around and depending on what that will be, having him as TV champ works. Guessing we’re going to see him vs. CM Punk in the Owen Hart tourney finals for the belt as well. Nothing is certain for ROH until they get on TV but everyhting is up in the air with the Discovery Plus purchase of Warner Media. Until then, fans will have to wait and see how Joe’s time as TV champ all plays out. Don’t miss this match on Wednesday!

Credit: Major League Wrestling

Major League Wrestling has announced a big show planned for the 2300 Arena: Kings of Colosseum 2022. In the main event, Richard Holliday challenges Hammerstone for the heavyweight championship. This should be a great match. For more info on this card, Check out MLW2300.com

Credit: Super B

Last bit of news for this week:

As heard on #607podcasts this week, Super B had a big match and WIN at Xcite Wrestling on Saturday Night. Post match, B called out Sean Carr for May 7th! Super B’s links are now in the Friends of the show section of ODPHpodcast.com. Make sure you’re following and don’t miss the match vs Carr on May 7th.

Unfortunately, Cerin Rahne suffered an injury during the Xcite show on Saturday night. If you are able to, support him by picking up some merch. Positive thoughts & energy for a speedy recovery #HopeDealer

SUPERCARD OF HONOR/GCW COLLECTIVE/CODY RHODES

Welcome to an all new edition of Blogs Count Anywhere, the complementary pro wrestling blog to the ODPH podcast and 607TWS on Twitch! It’s currently Wrestlemania week in the world of Pro Wrestling but there are some other news topics to discuss that needs some light shined on them. Leading the way was arguably the event I had the most questions about going into. The event: Ring Of Honor’s “Supercard Of Honor”. ROH’s return after suspending operations after December 2021’s “Final Battle”, releasing talent from contracts and eventually Tony Khan of All Elite Wrestling swooping in to buy the company has been one many fans have been waiting to see how the next phase of ROH would be. Well, what did we get?

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

“Supercard of Honor” was a great wrestling card. The matches were excellent. Many new champions were crowned (we’ll get to that in a bit) and overall, a very solid return. The only “drawbacks” (imo) is that it is very clear ROH will be either a developmental brand or considered the “B” show to AEW. There were quite a few moments where AEW was heavily hyped throughout this show for continuing storylines on their programming. This felt like how AEW would crash Impact programming and put themselves over more than building up Impact’s brand. Granted, this is a different scenario with Khan owning both promotions but the message is still very clear. Fans will also have to be used to this message much like when ECW was brought back by WWE. It won’t be the same. It will be different, for better or worse. If you factored all that out, there’s much to like about this show.

It also gave fans the return of the one and only Samoa Joe. Joe, a legend in Ring Of Honor, with noteworthy stints in TNA/Impact Wrestling and WWE respectfully returned to close the show out. Joe, who was released by WWE, had fans buzzing on Friday night. It was also announced after the show that Joe had signed with All Elite Wrestling (another thing fans will have to get used to: anyone signed will be #AllElite). If Joe is 100% healthy, this is a big win for AEW/ROH. He will be the face of ROH if he stays there or will make an impact on AEW programming. Personally, ROH is the better fit. Joe unfortunately would get lost on the over-saturated AEW roster as it stands now. Sure, there are dream matches with CM Punk and Danielson to have but as recent additions have shown us, getting TV time with a new debut week after week is not easy.

If Joe can be used to build up the “B” show, this brand could be made into a Raw vs. Smackdown type competition. That should be the play here. With so many members of the roster, a draft to bands would make sense and Joe would be a top pick no matter which brand it was. Fully expecting some big moves from Joe now on the roster. It’s only a question of where is the best fit with the dream opponents.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Speaking of dream matches and opponents, fans FINALLY got what might be the current runner for Match of The Year: Briscoes vs. FTR for the ROH tag belts. The match lived up to the hype and easily stole the show. Even the Young Bucks crashing the post match to hype their long awaited rematch with FTR on Wednesday’s Dynamite didn’t defer how great this match was. The two best tag teams on the planet did a phenomenal job. Now the big question is: With the match being this good and fans waiting an immediate rematch, what’s the fallout now?

As of this typing, Khan has not signed the Briscoes (with rumor being AEW television execs. don’t want them due to past controversial tweets). If that rumor is true, then chances of a rematch in AEW/ROH will be next to impossible. The Briscoes will continue to tear up the indie scene but for a team just inducted into the ROH Hall Of Fame class to not be signed for past actions, but yet other current AEW roster members had past comments resurface and yet, they are still on the roster, even as former champions doesn’t add up. Just saying. Hopefully something can get worked out & fans get to see the Briscoes in an ROH ring again sooner than never.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Another moment that stood out: KAZE NI NARE! Minoru Suzuki captured the Ring Of Honor TV title! The NJPW legend winning over Rhett Titus was a complete surprise. This should lead to some fun match-ups for the title but one has to wonder how long this run will last? I don’t see Suzuki staying around long term in AEW so seeing who could be next in line for the belt is a wide open field. Maybe a Lee Moriarty? How bout Swerve Strickland? Even Sammy Guevara’s name has to be in that mix. Endless contenders.

ROH also had all their titles change hands during Supercard Of Honor to AEW talent (with exception to Suzuki and Jon Gresham who wasn’t not officially signed to my knowledge) . Wheeler Yuta won the Pure championship. Mercedes Martinez is the interm women’s champion. FTR are your current tag champs. Jonathan Gresham won the unification main event.. With all these new champions, there are many storyline to set up. It’s a great thing about starting a new promotion, but with one that holds the legacy of Ring Of Honor, will it live up to what’s been established or will it be something else completely? Only time will tell on that.

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Last thing from Supercard of Honor: NINJA MACK made his ROH debut! Unfortunately, he ran into a returning Brian Cage but I was very happy to see him still on the show. Maybe one day, he’ll be signed there but until then, don’t miss what he’s doing on the indie scene. Absolutely crushing it right now!

Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Since we’re talking of people crushing it on the indies right now….there is NO ONE killing it more right now than “All Heart” Blake Christian. The ma literally did Imapct Wresting, NJPW, GCW and ROH in the course of ONE DAY! Currently, “All Heart” is your wrestler of the year & there is no debate. Do yourself a favor and catch up on his run since being released from WWE. No idea how they dropped the ball with him but DAMN! You talk of people betting on themselves and winning? Look no further! If Tony Khan is smart, he signs Christian ASAP and THAT’s the guy who beats Suzuki for the ROH Tv title. Absolute legendary run during Mania week Catch up on his work ASAP! Get some merch too! #yearofALLHEART continues on!

Photo Credit: World Wrestling Entertainment

Obviously, what’s the biggest story of the week is: The Rhodeslander has arrived back home in the WWE. Cody Rhodes in fact WAS the mystery opponent for Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania 38. Early reaction is that it couldn’t have gone off better. Rhodes came in exactly as we’ve seen him. He was the Rhodeslander. He was the guy who left WWE and became a star on the indies. There was no Stardust. here was no Smoke and Mirrors. Rhodes came in and really made the most of the moment. Fallout has been fairly positive with only a few toxic tweets from fans. Overall, this will be one of the moments we talk about as fans for a while and Rhodes’ next moves as a member of the WWE roster will be watched very heavily.

Photo Credit: Game Changer Wrestling

Last bit of news: Game Changer Wrestling absolutely tore up Wrestlemania week with the Collective 2022. Order the bundle from Fite TV and trust me, if you’re a pro wrestling fan, there’s something for you to enjoy. Personal favorites were For The Culture, JCW vs LA Fights, The Wrld on Lucha, Effy’s Big Gay Brunch & Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6. Every show really brought it and there’s much to break own on the next 607TWS. It set a high benchmark for showcasing independent pro wrestling! Check it out!

Remember that Super B Brandon Sevilla will be live in studio on April 4th to recap the week that was and talk all things pro wrestling with #607podcasts. Follow now and see everyone on the live stream!

Let me know what pro wrestling you’re checking out & make sure to be following all the 607 podcasts family for all the pro wrestling breakdown you need! As always, thanks for reading!