#i'm pretty sure we are has easily won the title of show that has made me cry the most often

[pangzi]

It's genuinely so pathetic the way I started sobbing every single time these guys thanked each other for being part of their lives

[wrestlingisfake]

All Out preview

Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley - Cassidy is making his 31st defense of the AEW international title. He has not lost a one-on-one match since September 21, 2022, but this is easily his toughest opponent yet.

These two were scheduled to meet for the first time one-on-one in November 2021, but that match was canceled. Other than that, these two had very little to do with one another until July 21, when Cassidy and the Best Friends confronted Moxley's partners in the Blackpool Combat Club. Moxley wasn't there, but on July 26 he made up for lost time with an ambush on Cassidy. The two factions and their allies have been feuding for weeks, including a ten-man brawl last week at Wembley Stadium, where Cassidy scored the winning pin. I wouldn't say these two in particular have had a personal issue, but they're the biggest stars on either side, and sooner or later they had to face off.

This is the biggest match of Orange's career. You wouldn't expect a guy with a comedy gimmick to last two minutes against a protected badass like Moxley. But a win, or even a well-fought loss, would prove Cassidy can hang with the tippy-toppy guys despite (or because of) his silliness. Beating Chris Jericho in 2020 meant a lot, and an 11-month title reign helped even more, but this match can take him to the next level.

It's pretty clear at this point that CM Punk vs. Ricky Starks was supposed to headline this show, until Punk was suspended last week and fired yesterday. Now this match has to close the show, in Punk's hometown. Both guys are making this match about which of them will carry the company through troubled times. We know Moxley can handle that kind of pressure. Cassidy has a chance to prove he can too. The best case scenario for AEW would be if Moxley makes his opponent a bigger star, so that people remember this week for Orange stepping up to make chicken salad out of Punk's chicken shit.

I could see this match going either way. Moxley has expressed a desire to "give back" by putting over younger guys; that doesn't mean he'll always do the job, obviously, but he's looking for the right time and place to do it. On the other hand, Cassidy's storyline for months is that he's fighting hurt and refuses to take a break, and that clearly won't end until someone breaks him, so he can return stronger than ever. I'd kinda like to see Moxley hold the international title just to add to its prestige, so I'd be cool with him winning here to set up Orange winning a rematch later on. But under the circumstances, you've only got one chance to headline a PPV with this matchup, for this title. So there are plenty of reasons to just let Cassidy win the big one.

MJF & Adam Cole vs. John Silver & Alex Reynolds - Max and Cole won the ROH tag team title at Wembley Stadium last week; Silver and Reynolds, representing the Dark Order, won a battle royale to earn this title shot.

I expect both sides to get a babyface reaction. The fans love MJF and Cole, even though the entire basis of their friendship is that they bonded over being pricks, and we'll never be sure one won't betray the other. I think the Dark Order is supposed to have turned heel, but they're still so lovable and cuddly that I'm not sure anyone really buys it. Their whole deal now is that they resent Adam Page for "abandoning" them to reconcile with the Elite, so now they're ruthless and looking out for themselves. But it's not going to be easy to get over as selfish heels in the ring against MJF of all people, even if he is a babyface.

It's pretty clear this match is just a pit stop for Cole and MJF, on their way to a reckoning with Cole's former friends Roderick Strong, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven. Unless those three guys interfere somehow, I don't see any chance of Silver and Reynolds winning the belts. Actually, even if there's a bunch of interference, I'd say the champs are heavy favorites to retain.

Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita - Omega and Takeshita have since clashed in various tag team matches, but this is their first singles encounter. As Don Callis has helpfully pointed out, Kenny has not won a singles match since Don betrayed Kenny on May 10.

When Callis arrived in AEW in late 2020, he was symbolic of Omega's heel turn. Once Kenny basically went babyface in 2022, it was only a matter of time before Don turned on him. By November 2022 Callis was scouting Takeshita, raising questions about whether he was looking to replace Kenny. It seemed like Takeshita was too pure of a cinnamon roll to become a ruthless enforcer for Callis, but that's exactly what happened on May 28.

Omega does need to get some payback against Callis and Takeshita, but I don't know that he needs it right now. If he just beats Takeshita clean in the middle of the ring, the storyline's over. That doesn't make any sense when Don has spent months talking about building a new "Don Callis Family," and despite working with half a dozen heels he hasn't actually recruited anyone except Takeshita. We need more guys in this faction, which makes this the perfect opportunity for a new recruit to run in and cost Omega the victory.

Bryan Danielson vs. Ricky Starks - This is a strap match, so the participants will be tied at the wrist to either end of a long leather strap. The goal is be the first person to touch each corner of the ring in succession. I hate strap matches, because the build is "dudes whipping the shit out each other" but then the payoff is "dudes tangled up and reaching for turnbuckles." They always try to lash each other with the strap, but with both ends tied to the wrestlers it's hard to get your body in the proper position for the strappation, dudes.

The setup for this was when Ricky Steamboat refereed CM Punk vs. Starks on August 5, and Starks took Steamboat's belt off and whipped him with it. That was probably going to set up a Punk-Starks rematch on this show, but once that was off the table Starks issued a challenge to Steamboat. Steamboat produced a contract, except it was for Starks to wrestle Danielson, who unexpectedly returned from breaking his arm ten weeks ago. I assume Danielson let Dr. Proper know, and Dr. Unger know, and Dr. Hughes know, that the release forms have been signed, so those guys aren't responsible for the last couple fractures in the forearm, brother.

I assume Danielson will play babyface and get the big comeback win. But I'm rooting for Starks, because he did an amazing promo on September 2 about starting over after the rug was pulled out from under him. Danielson needs to be protected but not nearly as much as Starks needs to be elevated.

Luchasaurus vs. Darby Allin - Luchasaurus is defending the AEW TNT championship, even if his mentor Christian Cage is the one carrying the belt and all but calling himself the titleholder. Cage will be in Lucha's corner, and Allin will be cornered by his young ward, Nick Wayne. Last night Cage told Nick he'd have to throw in the towel for Darby, which may be telegraphing the finish. I suppose it'll be interesting seeing Allin fight someone the size of Luchasaurus, but this feud has been ice-cold for me and so has the Nick Wayne storyline, and combining the two hasn't made either of them better. I get the feeling Luchasaurus retains to drag this out further.

Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho - Statlander's AEW TBS title is on the line. Soho is 2-0 against the champion. I vaguely remember that after one of those matches people were outraged because Statlander deserved to win, but honestly that happens so often nowadays that I'm not even sure the match I'm thinking of was these two. Anyway, I don't see much point in a title change right now so I'm sure Statlander will get one of her wins back.

Samoa Joe vs. Shane Taylor - This is for Joe's ROH television title. Taylor was the runner-up to Dalton Castle in a July tournament to earn a title shot, but after Joe defeated Castle they immediately booked another tournament to choose another contender, and this time Taylor won. I have not been terribly impressed with the storytelling in Ring of Honor.

This is a huge opportunity for Taylor. He was with ROH for years, and Tony Khan brought him after the buyout, but he's not one of the ROH guys that got an AEW contract or time on AEW television. This may be the biggest crowd Shane has ever worked in front of, and I think he can deliver at this level. I mean, Joe's still going to beat his ass and retain. But I still think Taylor will turn a few heads.

Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs - I decided not to attend this show (last time I went to see wrestling I got COVID) but this is the one match that gives me second thoughts. I don't know what the hell these guys are fighting about but I don't care, and I don't think they do either. They're both huge and mean and they're gonna have a MEAN GUY MATCH~! and I am here for it. Well, not as "here" as I could be, I guess. I am on my couch for it. I'm always gonna root for Hobbs, but honestly it doesn't matter who wins as long as both guys pound the stuffings out of each other.

Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler & Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn - FTR (Dax & Cash) and the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick) continued their rivalry last week, and the Bucks were salty that they lost. They were trying to have a civil conversation about it on August 30 when Bullet Club Gold interrupted and suggested an eight-man tag match.

Last night's Collision (in the same building as tonight's show) ended with the Bucks saving FTR from Bullet Club Gold, and the Chicago crowd was hostile to CM Punk's top enemies asking for handshakes from CM Punk's top buddies on CM Punk's show, on the night where they announced CM Punk is fired. Thew show went off the air with the Bucks smugly shaking each other's hands, which seems like a ballsy thing to do in Punk territory, when so many weirdos think the Bucks set him up somehow.

Anyway I expect Chicago to be radioactive for the Bucks for years to come, but if they are they'll just love FTR all the more. So the crowd reaction here could be complicated. Kinda thinking White's team should win.

Eddie Kingston & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta - Claudio vs. Eddie and Shibata vs. Yuta were two top matches on Ring of Honor's April pay-per-view, so I guess we're running those back as a tag match. We have to be getting back to Claudio-Eddie for the ROH men's world title at some point, but they don't seem to be in a hurry. The babyfaces should win, and it'd be nice if one of them pinned Claudio to set up a title bout.

Billy Gunn & Max Caster & Anthony Bowens vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh - This is scheduled for the pre-show. Last night Jarrett's group gave celebrity guest star Dennis Rodman a hard time, so the Acclaimed and Billy offered to give them a shot at their trios title, with Rodman in the champs' corner. Billy and the Acclaimed just got new custom pink title belts, so there's no way they're going to lose the championship this soon.

Athena & Diamante & Mercedes Martinez vs. Hikaru Shida & Willow Nightingale & Skye Blue - Another pre-show match. I heard Tony Khan wanted to book Athena vs. Billie Starkz for the ROH women's world title, but Billie's not medically cleared. I don't know why that means Athena can't defend her title against one of the other five women in this match, but whatever. WIllow has has been feuding with Diamante and Martinez of late. Skye is a local girl so she always gets a good Chicago pop. Shida should probably be higher on the card, but maybe she can get an ROH title shot out of this if she wins. Actually, I think Athena's side will win.

Over the Budget Battle Royale - It's a battle royale for the pre-show, and that's all I've got. No participants have been announced, as far as I know. The winner will get to donate $50,000 to the charity of his choice. I assume that's 50k of AEW's money, not the winner's. Literally anything could happen with this, but I suppose a babyface needs to win.

[whoperlokian-bendingismagic]

I'm so excited for the Tour de France this year, so I'm going to infodump about it. Strap in or skip, it's up to you.

So to get into why this year's TdF is exciting, we have to rewind a couple years to 2020. The Tour was delayed (cuz COVID) but the race did happen. The guy who was going to win it was Slovenian cyclist for Team Jumbo-Visma Primoz Roglic (I'm going to miss a lot of accents because reasons, no disrespect to anybody's names). Primoz Roglic had won the Vuelta Espana (Like the TdF but for Spain) and was seen as the race favorite. He comes into the second to last stage with the Yellow Jersey, and it's a Time Trial (a solo effort against the clock rather than a full-on race where everybody is riding the same road at the same time). Primoz Roglic is more of a climber than a Time Trialist, but he's still pretty good at TTs, and it's by no means a liability for him.

But then, his fellow Slovenian, Team UAE rider Tadej Pogacar happened, obliterating Roglic's time trial result and taking the race lead just before the final stage, which is largely a formality and a last chance for sprinters to win a stage. A lot of people accused Pogacar of being a doper, but there's been no evidence since then to support it.

So then 2021. Pogacar is back as defending champion of the TdF, Primoz Roglic is back to try and get his title. Primoz Roglic goes on to have a bad spate of luck and suffers enough crashes that he retires from the race. Team Jumbo-Visma isn't out of the race, though. They end up having a shockingly good TdF, with climbing domestique Sepp Kuss becoming the first ever Coloradoan to win a stage of the TdF, Belgian Champion Wout Van Aert winning a mini triple crown of a mountaintop stage, a time trial stage, and a sprint stage, and revealing that the scrawny danish kid they'd added to the roster was a secret Plan B weapon who came out as the only person who could threaten Pogacar's dominance. Pogacar won the Tour, but Jonas Vingegaard came out of nowhere to be the only potential answer to him.

2022: Pogacar is back again as the defending champion, Jumbo-Visma bring in the team again, with Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Wout Van Aert, Sepp Kuss, and four others. The race starts with a few stages in Denmark, and there's too much to coherently write out here, so I've got to dive temporarily into a bullet list.

Stage 1 is a time trial won by somebody nobody thought would be capable of winning a time trial. It helps that it was raining that day, which made a lot of the favorites ease back and take fewer risks

Wout Van Aert has a series of second-place finishes in bunch sprints, including one where he sat up to celebrate and somebody else kept sprinting (this was the second time this happened to him IN THE YEAR 2022, WOUT STOP DOING THIS)

EF Education-EasyPost rider Magnus Cort delights his home country of Denmark by becoming the king of immediately launching breakaways every stage in Denmark and keeps it up until a positive COVID test drops him out at Stage 10

Wout Van Aert did a better job of sprinting in the TdF than anybody had ever done since the Green Jersey (Sprinter's Classification) was introduced, blowing easily over the Sprint Points record previously held by Peter Sagan

The mini-Paris Roubaix stage went terribly for Jumbo Visma with double-bike changes for Vingegaard, and Primoz Roglic having some bad crashes.

Jumbo-Visma had a very clever plan to unseat Pogacar and get Jonas Vingegaard into the yellow jersey, and it worked perfectly.

On a mountain descent, Vingegaard and Pogacar were alone at the head of the race, Vingegaard almost crashed, and then Pogacar DID crash and Vingegaard SLOWED DOWN FOR POGACAR TO CATCH UP it was an incredible moment of sportsmanship for what is shaping up to become a cycling rivalry that I'm sure will go down as one of the greatest rivalries in all of sport.

Vingegaard won the Tour

So now, in 2023, both Pogacar and Vingegaard have been showing in the lead-up to the TdF that they are in a league of their own. Pogacar nearly won the Ardennes Triple Crown (a series of prestigious races in Flanders) before he crashed out in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Vingegaard has completely wrecked the competition in Tour of the Basque Country and the Criterium du Dauphine. Vingegaard and Pogacar did meet in Paris-Nice and Pogacar won there, but just watching the two of them will be very exciting. Except there is more! Biniam Girmay is looking like he'll be in the Tour de France, and I don't think he's a threat to the Yellow Jersey, but he is a good time trialist and he's a great sprinter. In 2022, he won a stage of the Giro D'Italia (like the TdF but in Italy), by outsprinting one of cycling's greatest all-rounders, Matheiu Van Der Poel in Stage 10. That made him the first ever black African to win a stage of a Grand Tour. He had to retire because his celebratory champagne bottle launched its cork into his eye, but he's recovered and just won Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse yesterday. I think he's a serious contender for the Green Jersey this year based on his performance against Wout Van Aert yesterday and what he did against MVDP last year, and I'm hoping to see some greatness from him.

Don't watch the Tour in full if you have better things to do, but I do recommend watching the extended highlights that NBCSN puts on Youtube, they're great.

[danwhobrowses]

20 AEW Dark and Elevation Regulars that AEW should sign

Now I know, AEW has a very stacked roster, in fact I've considered writing an essay on the risk of AEW's growing roster being top-heavy

I mean we've barely scraped the potential of Brian Cage, Scorpio Sky, Wardlow, Sammy Guevara, TH2, Sonny Kiss, Matt Sydal, Proud and Powerful, Nick Comoroto, Will Hobbs, Serena Deeb (who I know is injured atm), and many more. But with Rampage oncoming maybe there is room for them.

But, we'll stick a pin in that for now, because tonight is AEW's 100th Episode of Dark. A big deal still considering it's one of AEW's 2 weekly youtube wrestling shows, and one of AEW's many Youtube weekly shows if you include vlogs such as BTE, SammysVlogs, Ethan Page's vlog and the AEW-promotional Countdown to and Outside the Ring with Lexy Nair segments and the Unrestricted Podcast. In the pandemic era, Dark became a home to several indie talents in need for work, some got signed but not all, so I'm gonna list 10 men's and 10 women's wrestlers who were regulars on Dark and Elevation who AEW can and should still sign

Note: I will not be including wrestlers who look set for regularity, so Wheeler Yuta, Jora Johl, Fuego and the Wingmen won't be on the list, as will any AEW Women's tournament entrants (Maki Itoh, Madi Wrenkowski, Nicole Savoy etc.). Danny Limelight and Konosuke Takeshita are also signed to MLW and DDT Pro just fyi

10 Men AEW should sign

The men's division is already stacked, and it has a lot of up and comers too, but there are still a few areas where AEW's Dark stalwarts have proven they can fill a void for.

Honorable mentions for: JDX, El Australiano, M'Badu, Jake St. Patrick, Brick Aldridge, Megabyte Ronnie, Suge 'Pineapple Pete' D and Vary Morales. Also Kidd Bandit, but he hasn't wrestled on Dark or Elevation so I couldn't add him in.

10. Marty Casaus Better known as Marty 'the Moth' Martinez from Lucha Underground, Marty trained with AEW after some time out with injury and made some appearances on Dark. As the Moth, Marty demonstrated his character work as a gross heel, but his size was also an asset to his disturbed and near-psychotic persona.

9. Dean Alexander An alumnus of the Nightmare Factory, Alexander has frequented on Dark and Elevation usually in tag action where he hasn't been able to get his dickhead persona across. He is your traditional cocky heel which in the Nightmare Factory showcases has led to his hilarious downfalls, even losing to Negative One in his multiple failures to win in the Main Event of these showcases. Frankly, this is what Baron Corbin should be like if you're gonna mock him, he's also very impressive in the ring.

8. Dillon McQueen Another Nightmare Factory alum, Dillon McQueen has also only been used for jobbing, but his character is actually great. The King of Queens, Dillon brims charisma that would be a winner for crowds, but he has a babyface fire to him as well, easily could be a rising talent with the right training.

7. Dan Barry To be honest, I like his Hawaiian Shirts. He has a lot of experience in the indies and can work in a similar way Colt Cabana works balancing serious and comedy wrestling, would just be pretty cool to see him more.

6. & 5. TNT (Terrence and Terrell Hughes) Sons of D-Von Dudley, TNT have had less appearances on AEW as of recent, which is a shame, because they can definitely be developed as some of the next gen tag teams the Acclaimed and Blonds have been. AEW haven't shied from legacy wrestlers in the past, and the duo definitely have potential.

4. Chandler Hopkins Chandler Hopkins has shown up to be squashed by the big men a lot, but somehow he also manages to eke out some strong entertainment and fluid wrestling in it. His match against Brian Cage is an effective example of this. Like Fuego, Chandler is definitely someone you can use on the undercard for some enhancement, maybe even push up once more character comes across.

3. Ryzin Ryzin has stuck with AEW for quite a while now, even having skits on BTE. The Unholy Father however never got a W on AEW, which is a shame because he has character and promo skills in hand. He could easily be a fit for Chaos Project as well or teamed with Abandon in a James Mitchell kinda role.

2. Carlie Bravo One of the first class alums of the Nightmare Factory, Carlie Bravo remains charismatic and athletic in his showings, he even had a great little pairing with Shawn Dean until Dean's signing, I'd love to see them bring that back - two Navy veterans tearing up the tag scene would be pretty awesome.

1. Baron Black Few have stayed the course during the pandemic era like Baron Black. Debuting in April and still yet to get his first win, he was one of the three touted stars by Cody on Sammy's vlog who he encouraged to be booked around the world because of his workrate and skill. If anyone has earned it that isn't named Fuego del Sol (or that other name Cody mentioned), it's Baron Black.

10 Women AEW should sign In contrast to the men's division, AEW's women's roster does look like it could use some buffing, for midcard and even building more stars.

Honorable mentions are plenty in this one, so just missing out are the following: Ashley D'Amboise, Leila Grey, Renee Michelle, Jazmin Allure, Savannah Evans, Willow Nightingale, the Renegade Twins, Holidead, Kenzie Paige, Jennacide and Brooke Havok (who I would guess will be signed once her leg recovers).

10. Ashley Vox With or without her Sea Stars tag partner, Delmi Exo, Ashley Vox has proven herself a frequent flier for AEW. Talented in singles and tag competition. She also has a strong rapport with many of AEW's current roster.

9. Alex Gracia The Pink Dream has been on ROH as of recent but remains a freelancer, her last appearance being a squash from Dr. Britt Baker DMD. AEW must've been high on Gracia at one point because they gave her a title shot on Dynamite. With experience in Shimmer and Stardom, Gracia would definitely be a worthy addition.

8. Tesha Price Another woman who AEW put on Dynamite rare times, Tesha proved herself to play face and heel during her time on Dark and Elevation. As a heel she showed a lot of fire especially against KiLynn King and Ryo Mizunami, the Psycho Sweetheart definitely has something she can give to the division - who are tbf lacking in heels right now.

7. Vertvixen I am not sure what it is about Vertvixen specifically, but whenever I see her I think she has the look, not to mention the athleticism to boot. Her triple threat on MPW against Jennacide and Jazmin Allure was a definite highlight as of recent.

6. Miranda Alize A former Mae Young Classic competitor, like Jennacide and Gracia she's recently been used by ROH, but she is definitely a confident wrestler and does not shy from the intergender matches either, having fought Laredo Kid and Danny Limelight. She's worked with many impressive wrestlers too, including an Impact Knockouts Title match against Jordynne Grace and matches against Deonna, Taya and Tessa.

5. Reka Tehaka The Samoan Savage may've debuted on AEW's first ever house show, but regular Dark and Elevation appearances have been met with positive reactions. Being partly trained by the Nightmare Factory, Tehaka has done well to establish herself despite only wrestling for a year and a half, she could definitely be a prospect.

4. Veda Scott Okay, so I cheated a little by saying no competitors, but I could not leave out Veda on this list. She has in-ring talent and intergender experience - tagging with her Speedball husband - but on AEW Dark and the Deadly Draw she proved herself excellent on commentary. A female voice in the booth even for just the women's matches would go a long way for the division and Veda's the perfect voice for it.

3. Dani Jordyn The Mean Girl is definitely someone you can call a regular on Dark and Elevation. She works hard and works with a lot of main roster talent, and I don't think I've seen her put on a bad match. So it would be nice to reward her with a contract.

2. Diamante It still baffles me actually that Diamante has yet to become All Elite. Deadly Draw winner and involved in a lot of the Elevation/Dark women's feuds, Diamante has a wealth of knowledge and experience under her belt. She's still popular with fans and can easily step back into her LAX days by pairing with the Inner Circle. Few unsigned talent have won as much as her too, I would say it's when rather than if, but when is taking a long ass time.

1. KiLynn King The three names Cody praised highly were Fuego, Baron Black and KiLynn King, so I think above all else they should be given contracts. In fact, I was surprised King wasn't on the Dark 100 card, by virtue that although King has shown up on Dynamite a few times, she has been on Dark and Elevation 41 times since debuting in May 2020, it was a shock that someone so regular wasn't on the card. King showed she could work as the bully heel but also as a charismatic babyface, even having a little faction brewing with Swole and Red Velvet as RSK, but when crowds came back we seemed to drop the potential of AEW's first all-women faction. King is over with fans...so long as you don't put her against someone as over as Thunder Rosa, and she has put on some lowkey bangers during her time on AEW, especially the one against Riho. Tall and powerful, but fun in the ring and outside the ring with clips of her in the crowd chanting and even vibing to Angelico's music. King would definitely be on the top of my list of AEW Dark regulars that deserve a contract.

I'm sure I might've missed some and opinions may differ, but I think these lot would definitely be able to fit into AEW effortlessly thanks to their time on Dark and Elevation. Many of whom could be used to build or become future champions themselves, and I hope still to see more of them beyond Dark 100.