The SmarK Rant for AEW WrestleDream 2023 – 10.01.23
Live from Seattle, WA
Your hosts are Excalibur, Taz & Nigel McGuinness
The SmarK Rant for AEW WrestleDream 2023 – 10.01.23
Latest Wrestling Blogs
Morning Daily Update for Monday, October 2, 2023
(photo courtesy of X)
Adam Copeland makes AEW debut at WrestleDream
Adam Copeland Arrives In AEW, Confronts Christian Cage (wrestlingheadlines.com)
Could Fenix go on the shelf after last night’s injury?
Rey Fenix Banged Up After AEW WrestleDream Match, Possibly Injured (wrestlingheadlines.com)
Happy Monday, folks! Monday means that RAW airs tonight on the USA Network. Monday Night Football has Seahawks-Giants. Although it wasn’t announced last night, following the Chiefs’ win, the Swifties have left the building. An irritated Shawn Michaels was allegedly seen down in Florida losing his smile again.
So how long until Edge gets Punked?
I give him three months before Adam Page starts badmouthing Edge on live TV and you have the Elite and their whisper network calling Edge locker room cancer and blood libeling him ala Punk, resulting in Edge going on a post-PPV press conference rant where he says “Punk was too nice to these assholes…” before calling the Elite and their ilk all sorts of obscenities due to Edge knowing he can waltz back into the WWE with open arms if the Elite try and get him fired like they did CM Punk and can make Tony know actual REAL fear (not the BS fake fear he felt at All Out) as he watches someone with no interest in playing nice call out the corrupt cancer that is the Elite by name in ways Punk never would have.
Jesse Baker
Oh Punk getting fired was the ELITE’S fault? Well that clears it all up.
World Class Wrestling Association July 26, 1986
Taped from Dallas, TX
Airdate: July 26, 1986 (taped 07/11)
Attendance: unknown
Hosted by Bill Mercer
How will Kevin fare against a “Mad Dog”? Can Brody and Simpson topple Brooks and Grappler 2? Who’s the new guy? Some Australian guy from Queens?
WrestleDream 2023
WrestleDream 2023
Date: October 1, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Jim Ross
We’re back with the third pay per view in six weeks and this has a bit of a theme to it. The idea of this show is paying tribute to Japanese legend Antonio Inoki, who passed away a year ago to the day. As a result, there are some New Japan stars involved in the show, which does have a strong card. Let’s get to it.
Evening Daily Update for Sunday, October 1, 2023
<i>AEW WrestleDream</i> airs tonight ONLY on PPV. Order NOW!
On free TV, The <s>Taylor Swifties</s> KC Chiefs visit Jersey to play the Jets. Will they turn Zach Wilson into gabagool or can the Jets defend their turf?
I hope your Sunday night is loaded with either family, fun, or both. Have a great night!
A Manly Man
Are we ready to say Becky is the greatest WWE female wrestler of all time, and in the convo for greatest all time female anywhere? This month alone she had multiple amazing matches, with her Trish Cage match in convo for match of the year, especially on the female side. At one point she was probably the biggest act in all of WWE, and is still a top draw.
Becky is a great promo and can excel in any kind of match. She is not selfish and has helped get others over too. She really cemented Bianca as a main event player with their year long feud, and what she is doing with Tiffany is amazing as well. The craziest part is everyone loves her backstage as well. Any drama she has been involved in she comes out as the good guy. She also had a baby and came back without missing a beat. And she was the first person to really murder her enemies on twitter and push forward multiple feuds.
Where do you think Becky ranks?
You know it’s OK to say that someone is good without declaring that they’re the “best of all time” before their career is even over. That’s normal discourse.
WWE Hall of Fame 2024
Seeing as it’s in Philly, should they go for an ECW theme?
Have Paul Heyman as the main inductee and then have a supporting cast of Sabu, Raven, Scorpio and Jazz (RVD is already in I believe)
Might as well put Tony Stetson and Johnny Hot Body in there as well with that kind of star powered lineup.
No, they will not be wasting the HOF inductions on ECW next year. Personally I’d rather see them mend fences with Bill Eadie and get Demolition in there. Or Bob Backlund, who I don’t think is in yet either.
Edge
Seems like very little hype/ buzz for wrestledream. If edge were to debut should they hold it off for another ppv with maybe more eyes on it?
Yeah I don’t know about this one. We just came off a week with two major PPVs in seven days and now it’s right back to another “dream match” show without any real dream matches. Darby Allin and Christian is a tribute to the spirit of Inoki in Seattle or something? I actually skipped Collision last night because I wasn’t feeling well but also I didn’t want to get completely burned out on AEW this weekend with a 14 match show coming up.
I imagine they’d want to debut him ASAP but this might not be the best time.
Morning Daily Update for Sunday, October 1, 2023
(photo courtesy of Wrestling Observer)
Wait a minute! It’s morning! I must been dreaming.
Oh, AEW WrestleDream is tonight.
In the meantime, the NFL has a full slate already in progress in London. I see that the Khans have a LONG day ahead of them.
Al Snow “uncomfortable” with Head
Mick Foley has always feared for Snow’s social life. Speaking of Foley…
Bischoff’s no fan of Cactus Jack
https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1406765/eric-bischoff-says-mick-foley-liability-wcw/
Enjoy your Sunday funday. Whether or not it’s your “I don’t have to run day” is up to you.
Collision – September 30, 2023
Collision
Date: September 30, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness
It’s the go home show for WrestleDream and that should make for a pretty big show. Collision has been in a weird place in recent months but maybe they can do better with some focus. The main event is another all star eight person tag, which might be their norm for go home shows. Let’s get to it.
Weekend Wrestling!
This weekend, after a Friday night spent watching the awesome Superbrawl 2, takes in an episode of WCW Main Event from a few weeks prior (on my dad’s 40th birthday, in fact) as well as a quick look at the animated adventures of Eek! The Cat.
WAR vs. NJPW Top Showdown Sendai Super Dream Match 04/02/93
Wrestle And Romance
Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
City Gymnasium
Attendance: 8,100
WAR continued their winning ways against NJPW with Takashi Ishikawa & Genichiro Tenryu pinning Tatsumi Fujinami & Riki Choshu in the main event of NJPW’s recent Hyper Battle, with Ishikawa being the one to lariat The Fuj and pin him, causing Choshu to vow revenge and finally bring Hashimoto into the interpromotional war on WAR’s home turf.
NXT No Mercy 2023
No Mercy 2023
Date: September 30, 2023
Location: Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.
NXT is back on the road this week and the card is looking rather stacked. The two big matches this time around will see Becky Lynch defending the Women’s Title against Tiffany Stratton in an Extreme Rules match, plus Ilja Dragunov challenging Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title. That should be enough to make this work so let’s get to it.
Evening Daily Update for Saturday, September 30, 2023
Jim Ross believes Dolph Ziggler’s tenure in WWE isn’t over: Allegedly Mrs. Gump said “He’s on vacation.”
TMZ publishes video evidence of Matt Riddle’s behavior at JFK: To say he was hammered would be an insult to hammerhead sharks
Matt Riddle appears to be drunk at JFK Airport
It’s Saturday night! Time for great movies, great college football, great company, and great times. Have a spectacular evening, folks!
If The Nature Boy had gone to the WWF in 1986
Scott,
If Buddy Landell had gone to the WWF in 1986 after selling out the Mid South Coliseum how high up the card could Buddy have ascended? 2nd from the top heel on the B Show circuit? Vince grooming his own version of The Nature Boy, building him to take the leg drop on SNME from Hulk Hogan in 1987? In a jail cell in Poughkeepsee prior to first tv taping?
Probably a starring role as “Co-Conspirator #1” during the Zahorian trials would be his ceiling.
Hulking Up
What do you think is the kayfabe reason why Hogan is able to Hulk Up even though he just got hit with his opponents most devastating move?
Delayed release of the vitamins he took and prayers he said before the match, brother.
Aussie renaissance
So with Aussie open in aew and Grayson Waller in WWE, are we in an Aussie wrestling renaissance not seen since the heyday of Outback Jack?
So I guess my real question is which act in your expert opinion draws more dollarydoos? And who is better at knifey spooney: Kyle fletcher or Grayson Waller? Being that Aussie open named their finisher after a toilet flushing backwards, one would think that Waller wins, no? These are the truly hard hitting questions the fans want to know!
I really like Aussie Open, as much as anyone can like people from a place that's perpetually upside down and once engaged in a major war with a bunch of flightless birds, but I would agree that Waller is the one that's shown more potential star power in his short time on the main roster. Aussie Open is by far the better workers of the conversation.
Rampage – September 29, 2023
Rampage
Date: September 29, 2023
Location: 1stBank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
It’s the last Rampage before WrestleDream and I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make. Rampage can be all over the place when it comes to importance, but there is a good chance that the wrestling itself will be pretty high quality. That should make for an easy show so let’s get to it.
Mike Reviews Shows Considered To Be Stinkers – WCW Fall Brawl 1998
Happy Stinky Saturday Everyone!
We’ve got an infamously awful show for you this time, in the form of WCW Fall Brawl 1998, a show Main Evented by a monstrous War Games match that almost saw Eric Bischoff called to The Hague to face formal charges. The rest of the show isn’t up to much either, with quite a few bad matches and WCW’s favourite trope; the bait and switch.
Howver, I’ll be doing my level best to give Fall Brawl 1998 a fair chance though. Who knows, maybe it isn’t quite as uniformly terrible as people say? There are a couple of matches on here that look like that might be close to being watchable, and there is at least one fantastic bout on the undercard that I’m looking forward to seeing.
If you’d like to view the full card for Fall Brawl 1998 then you can click the link below;