AEW — page 4

The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 07.19.23

RIP to Rick Scaia.  The News from Dayton is all bad tonight, I’m afraid.

Dynamite
Date: July 19, 2023
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s time to get violent, as this week’s show is all about Blood & Guts. That alone is going to be enough to carry things but we also have the FTW Title on the line as Hook defends against Jungle Boy, plus the tag team tournament finals. That should guarantee us a good show so let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Battle of the Belts VII – 07.15.23

Live from Calgary (even more dramatic pause) Alberta Canada

Your hosts are Ian Riccaboni & Nigel McGuinness

The SmarK Rant for AEW Collision – 07.15.23

Live from Calgary (dramatic pause) Alberta Canada, once again on TSN, although I’m watching it on Fite so I can see it at a decent hour.

Your hosts are Ian Riccaboni & Nigel McGuinness

Battle Of The Belts VII
Date: July 15, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s back to the series that doesn’t seem to matter much to AEW. Most of the card was announced last night on Rampage so it isn’t like there was a ton of effort put into the build. That has been the case for a long time now with this series but maybe this one will be different. Let’s get to it.

Collision
Date: July 15, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night around here with three title (kind of) matches. First of all, Bullet Club Gold gets their rematch for the Tag Team Titles in a two out of three falls match. That isn’t enough though, as both Owen Hart Foundation tournaments wrap up tonight. You can’t say they’re slacking this week so let’s get to it.

Rampage
Date: July 14, 2023
Location: SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Tony Schiavone

We have to be about done with this Canadian tour as the thing just keeps going. This week we’ll get to find out the other finalist in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, plus whatever else Excalibur went through oh so quickly earlier this week on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Rampage – 07.14.23

VACATION TIME!  I officially turned off my alarm clock for the next two weeks.

Taped from SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, home of the famous Saskatoon Slam, when MJF lifted up the 800 pound Big Bill in front of 198,000 screaming Maxamaniacs and put him through the mat, brother.  Also this is airing on TSN tonight because of Canadian Content Rules.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 07.12.23

Live from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Well sort of.  I’m not going to bother with a full review of the TV version tonight, but I’ll see if I can pull together enough from memory and fast-forwarding through the DVR.

Dynamite
Date: July 12, 2023
Location: SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re still in Canada and a week away from Blood & Guts next week. That means we should be getting a big build towards the match, but at the same time, there are also three tournaments, plus Battle Of The Belts coming up. For now though the Blind Eliminator tournament gets a little more focus so let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Collision – 07.08.23

Live from Regina, SK, armpit of Canada.  Thankfully they sold enough tickets at the last minute to make it look decently full on TV.

Your hosts are Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness

Collision
Date: July 8, 2023
Location: Brandt Center, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

The Canadian tour continues, as do the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments. In this case, the main draw is Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk, which was the biggest feud on the independent circuit about twenty years ago and could be very interesting today. Other than that, FTR vs. Bullet Club Gold, which could be pretty great. Let’s get to it.

Rampage
Date: July 7, 2023
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

It’s the 100th episode of the show and we have something of a grudge match on our hands. This time around, Hangman Page/the Young Bucks are facing the Dark Order, who still aren’t happy with how Page has treated them. Other than that, we have more tournament shenanigans to get through so let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Rampage – 07.07.23

“Rampage 100”

Taped from Edmonton, AB.  But the show is LIVE on TSN tonight for once, because it passes for Canadian Content

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Excalibur & Chris Jericho

The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 07.05.23

Oh man, Threads is here and I can finally free myself from the hellhole of Twitter.   Follow me at blogofdoom over there.  Elon Musk threw out the challenge like Honky Tonk Man and Mark Zuckerberg just squashed him like Ultimate Warrior.

Live from Edmonton, AB.  No I’m not there tonight, it’s a six hour drive from Saskatoon and I’m happy going to Dynamite next week.

Your hosts are Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Taz

Dynamite
Date: July 5, 2023
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re into the second half of the year here and the slow build towards All In continues. Before we get to that though, Blood & Guts is in two weeks, with the BCC vs. the Elite. That could be a bit tricky for both as the Elite will need an extra hand if Eddie Kingston is still in Japan and Bryan Danielson is still hurt. Maybe we find out something for that this week so let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Collision – 07.01.23

Taped from Hamilton, ON.  Well at least they ended up getting a couple of thousand people into the building if nothing else.

Your hosts are Kevin Kelly & Nigel McGuinness

Collision
Date: July 1, 2023
Location: First Ontario Center, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We’re taped this week and the focus is going to be on tournament matches. We have three Owen Hart Foundation Tournament matches and that should be enough to carry the show. Other than that, we have the Collision debut of MJF and some Forbidden Door fallout to cover. Let’s get to it.

Rampage
Date: June 30, 2023
Location: First Ontario Center, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’ll close out the first half of the year with the first Rampage after Forbidden Door. This week’s Dynamite was a bit off (but still good) and now we get to see if Rampage is the same. The big draw this week is Claudio Castagnoli defending the Ring Of Honor World Title, which should make for something interesting. Let’s get to it.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Dynamite – 06.28.23

Thanks to the 6 people who showed up for my inaugural Twitch stream of AEW Fight Forever tonight!  I know that sounds sarcastic but it’s kind of cool that anyone would bother taking time out before Dynamite to watch me play a video game.  I played through a quick match with Adam Cole to test out entrances and controls, showed off what little there is for CAW stuff, and then had Orange Cassidy blow up Sting in the Barbed Wire Exploding Ring Death match for an encore.  The game is 100% a No Mercy tribute and you can literally pick up the controller and it feels exactly like 2001 again, aside from using the control stick to move instead of the D-Pad.  Speaking as someone who can barely do an irish whip in the WWE2K games, the controls are a HUGE relief to me and much more fun.  This is exactly what I’m looking for in a wrestling game and what I’ve been asking for since the game was announced:  Just give me No Mercy engine with updated graphics and the AEW roster.  Done deal.

Live from Hamilton, ON

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone, Taz & Excalibur