thelesterlee
Welcome to The Pipe Bomb, where we discuss the latest news and events from the wrestling world, both inside and outside the ring. This week we have a review AEW All In 2024 and Ronda Rousey gets her ass beat by the internet.
5 Takeaways From AEW All In 2024
1. Let’s talk about Jericho…
Recently, Chris Jericho said he’s nowhere near retiring. He certainly has that right.
Jericho can continue wrestling for meaningless championships against guys using him to get on TV since Jericho has a permanent guaranteed time slot every Dynamite.
Sometimes, I sincerely feel bad for Jericho.
Jeff Jarrett is in an active story with one of the biggest stars in the company. Christian is about to start a main event program for the World Title.
And Chris Jericho is getting apples thrown at him by Taz’s son for a belt that doesn’t make sense outside of its original context.
The Casino Gauntlet match was full of generational wrestling talents.
The Jericho I grew up adoring should have been out there to a huge pop, hitting lionsaults on Zack Sabre and triangle dropkicks on Roderick Strong and the Walls of Jericho on Okada.
It’s wild he’s no longer looked at as a guy capable of doing that.
If only he wasn’t weird to young talent and his wife wasn’t at the Insurrection.
At least Fozzy got to leave the house.
I reckon I can be positive and say he saved Hook from being on the preshow again. Cool.
Big Bill was the star of this match.
Cardiff decided that Big Bill is the babyface, he told them to go fxck themselves and then the crowd started chanting “WE STILL LOVE YOU” LMFAOOOOOOOO #AEW #AEWCollision pic.twitter.com/b45tAvAMDj
— 🅰️🅾️ (@KXNGAO) August 25, 2024
Easily the biggest crowd reaction from anyone involved in this slop.
AEW doesn’t need to do another 2-3 month Learning Tree thing. Have Big Bill turn on Jericho this Wednesday and free him from this dogshit.
Bill joining The Learning Tree was the only segment I ever enjoyed from this group. Let him spread his wings and see how far he gets doing his own thing on Collison for a while.
Chris Jericho, please start booking your retirement tour.
2. Does Britt Baker suck?
I don’t love how loud the internet has gotten about Britt Baker’s in-ring work but I do love Britt Baker responding by posting clips of random moves she pulled off during her match.
Whenever someone says I’m not funny, I spend the day re-tweeting some of my best old jokes. That is a very normal and unbothered response to criticism.
Britt Baker was never a good wrestler but she represented AEW as a homegrown women’s star that they created in-house, never touched by any other major wrestling company.
So no one went super hard about Shida and Rosa carrying her when they absolutely carried her.
But that was then and this is now.
Willow Nightengale and Kris Statlander are better.
Thunder Rosa is better.
Mariah May is better.
Toni Storm is better.
Serena Deeb is better.
Ruby Soho is better.
Taya Valkyrie is better.
Deonna Purrazzois better.
Jamie Hayter is BACK (and better).
*whispers* Nyla Rose and Riho are better.
EMI SAKURA IS BETTER.
The only reason Britt is getting any time is because Skye Blue and Julia Hart are injured.
I said this last week and I’ll say it again, I feel bad for Britt Baker.
From her perspective, she is the same as she’s always been so I imagine she’s struggling to understand what’s suddenly changed but the truth is, the entire division has been revitalized in her absence.
Time to hit the weight room, buddy.
Hopefully she’s earned enough to open up that dental practice. She can go. And take Jericho with her.
3. The Brilliance of the Casino Gauntlet Match
Okay, now that we got the negative stuff out of the way, let’s celebrate the greatness of that Casino Gauntlet match.
These are the moments that remind me why I fell in love with AEW.
AEW is the first wrestling show to respect their fans’ intelligence.
Nigel McGuinness is one of the greatest wrestlers of the 2000s who was forced to retire early with injuries. Okada is arguably the greatest wrestler in New Japan’s history while Zach Sabre Jr is on the doorstep of winning the New Japan’s world championship.
But if you only watch AEW TV, you wouldn’t know much about Nigel’s in-ring career or Okada’s dominance or Sabre’s current Japan run but AEW will put them all in a ring together because they understand their core audience will do their due diligence and they don’t need to be spoonfed—allowing fans to feel rewarded for investing so much time into wrestling. Not just AEW but professional wrestling as a whole.
This match was essentially what if we just got a bunch of HOOPERS and rolled a ball out. Every competitor looked deserving of a title shot.
The match was so incredible, it didn’t even matter that Christian cheated to win it because it all made sense.
A fucking masterpiece.
4. Toni Storm’s flowers
I’ve already waxed poetic about my love for Toni Storm.
She really dug herself out of that dogshit booking with Saraya and The Outcasts to become one of the biggest stars in the company at a time when the women’s division was in complete shambles.
And not only did she get herself over but I had no idea who Mariah May was before they linked up and now she just won the women’s championship at the biggest show of the year.
I don’t know what Toni Storm does next but her character is big enough to elevate more women without a championship on the line. Maybe she spends more time on Collison, keeping her hot until they need a new face to challenge Mercedes Mone.
Maybe she gets a deserved vacation.
Either way, I am LOCKED into Toni Storm.
She could wrestle the Hawk Tuah at Wrestledream and it’ll be a 5-star classic.
5. An Ode To Bryan Danielson
Hours spent after school huddled around my friend’s PC watching grainy tapes of Bryan Danielson elbowing Austin Aries in the face over and over and over and over again have been rewarded this weekend as Bryan Danielson becomes the AEW World Champion.
FULL CELEBRATION: Bryan Danielson wins the AEW World Championship, Birdie and Buddy join the ring with their parents and also Blackpool Combat Club.
With fans singing in joy and fireworks going off on top of Wembley Stadium.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MOMENT.
pic.twitter.com/FmNQzLeiR3— Drainmaker 🌧️ 💵 (@DrainBamager) August 25, 2024
We are witnessing the greatest professional wrestler of all time receive his much-deserved flowers.
A man who CARRIED Ring of Honor, making it the home of the best wrestling ever as everyone who stepped into that ring knew they had to hold their own against the American Dragon.
A man who forced WWE to change their plans and give him a world championship because fans hijacked shows with Bryan’s Yes chants.
A man who has mastered the craft and created the generation of ballers we see in AEW today.
And to think we never thought this would happen after suffering career-ending injuries. I don’t think he’s lying in these promos when he talks about his body breaking down. This is the final run for the greatest to ever do it. Let’s appreciate every moment of this because once he’s gone we’re stuck with Austin Theory and Sammy Guevara.
Ronda Rousey grows up
Last week, Ronda Rousey hosted a Reddit AMA except users didn’t ask her “anything”. They asked her ONE thing. About 99% of the questions were about her denying the Sandy Hook shooting ever happened.
This went on for about an hour. She ended the AMA without answering a single question. Masterful PR work by Rousey. No idea what she’s even promoting. She feels very unemployed but decided to open herself up to this. Genius marketing.
But I want to give all the credit in the world to Ronda for releasing a statement apologizing for denying the child massacre.
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) August 23, 2024
This felt genuine. You have to give respect to losers who wake up one morning and not only realize that they’re gigantic losers but decide to change. Now, I never want to see Ronda Rousey wrestle again but she’s not a conspiracy dork anymore and I love that for her.
Someone ask AJ Styles is he still thinks the Earth is flat.
Random Stray Thoughts
- Will Ospreay and MJF have that great of a match like, 3 weeks after an hour-long banger is unbelievable. This is Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page for homeschooled kids.
- I love seeing Jeff Jarrett still getting this level of love this deep into his career. All he has to do is hit someone with a guitar, do the Fargo strut and bring his wife. 5 stars. Every time.
- AEW All in 2024 was lowkey a show about Christian fucking Cage and I’m not even mad about it. Christian has been the steadiest heel in the company since he arrived. This is the best position he’s ever been in at any point in his career and it’s from wearing a turtle neck and mocking people’s family tragedies. Wrestling is weird.
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What are your thoughts on AEW All In 2024? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee.
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