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!